Grass, Glorious Grass Trivia Quiz

Wheat (genus Triticum) is grown and harvested all over the world and the crop is used to make global staples such as bread and pasta but also for the creation of sweet treats such as pastries, doughnuts and cakes. Though it varies between species, wheat is approximately 70% carbohydrate which means that many people have something of a dietary love-hate relationship with this versatile grass. "A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips" springs to mind!

The subfamily Bambusoidae contains a large number of distinct species and the crop is incredibly versatile. Due to its hollow stems, bamboo is light relative to its size yet it is capable of holding up a significant mass (high strength); this combination makes it perfect for use as a building material. Bamboo is of course a foodstuff, enjoyed by humans and pandas alike!

Pampas grass is an example of a botanical name that has both a loose and a strict definition. Under the strict definition, pampas grass is exclusively Cortaderia selloana (the species best known globally) but, more flexibly, pampas grass can be used to refer to any species within the genus Cortaderia including Cortaderia jubata (Andean pampas grass).

As can be seen from the picture, pampas grass has a typically cream - and always flamboyant - inflorescence that hollers Mardi Gras. Time for a samba anyone? Ok, I'll stick to the grass chat.

Rice plants are classified within the genus Oryza and, whilst there are hundreds of different species, only two are typically used as a human food source; namely, Asian rice (Oryza sativa) and African rice (Oryza glaberrima). Of these, Oryza sativa is more abundantly used as a commercial grain and it is famously grown in the waterlogged paddy fields across Asia.

Sorghum is the name of a genus within the grass family but its usage typically refers to the edible crop, Sorghum bicolor. Also going by the name of great millet, sorghum can be identified by its panicles (the mini brown spheres in the image) and it is from these botanical structures that the sorghum grain is harvested. Native to Africa, Sorghum grows best in a high temperature environment.

The USA is the largest producer of the crop in the modern era.

Sugarcane in its cut form looks similar to the most familiar form of bamboo in the fact that they are both cylindrical tubes. They do, however, differ in respect of the tubular structure with sugarcane being densely packed whilst bamboo is hollow. Sugarcane belongs to the genus Saccharum and the majority of the world's sugar is sourced from Saccharum officianalis.

Barley has a distinct appearance with long bristles known as "awns" featuring prominently. As well as providing a certain botanical glamour to barley, awns have a role to play in photosynthesis and increasing grain yield. Never let it be said that awns are all style and no substance! Barley, like wheat, contains gluten so consumption of the grain should be avoided by those with a gluten intolerance or allergy.

Lemon grass, the fragrant plant used in a variety of cuisines across Southeast Asia, belongs to a genus with a fantastic name - Cymbopogon (from the Greek words for "boat" and "beard"). The type pictured is the dried stem of Cymbopogon citratus and can be used to add fragrance to dishes such as tom yum soup and green curry.

The plant pictured is pearl millet which is a member of the genus Cenchrus (Cenchrus americanus). Taxonomy can often help with distinguishing different types of plants, particularly in the face of an overly liberal use of common names; the common use of the word "millet" to describe sorghum ("great millet") and "pearl millet" masks the fact that the two species do not belong to the same genus.

As already mentioned, pearl millet belongs to the genus Cenchrus whereas sorghum is, straightforwardly enough, a member of the Sorghum genus.

They do however both share the same subfamily (Panicoedeae) which explains the similarities in the appearance of these two types of grass.

The matured female inflorescence of maize (Zea Mays), commonly known as a corncob or corn on the cob, comes in a beautiful array of colours dictated by the relative proportions of carotenoids (yellow, orange and red), phlobaphenes (dark red) and anthocyanins (red, purple and black).

Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) is also known as gold feather grass (this name is growing in popularity) and can be found in the plains and prairies of Canada and the United States of America. It is the state grass for Oklahoma and South Carolina.

The common reed (Phragmites australis) thrives in wetland habitats and, as its common name suggests, it is not picky about where in the world it chooses to put down its roots. The common reed is very much distinct from the giant reed (Arundo donax) which is from a different genus entirely. Given the abundance of the common reed, the plant was often dried and treated ready for use in thatched roofs.