Question:

What do a bowl of cereal, a bale of hay, a thatched roof and a glass of beer all have in common?

Answer:

They are all the products of one huge plant family – the grasses. In prehistoric times, people began to harvest grass seeds for food and to gather bundles of grass to construct shelters. Since then, these plants have also been used in clothes and containers, in gardens and sports grounds, and even to make explosives and jewellery.

Grasses are found throughout the world, from the southernmost tip of South America to the northern reaches of Norway and Russia, often covering vast expanses of land. Wherever they grow, they provide food for a whole host of insects, birds and other animals, both domesticated and wild.

Click on these options to find out more about these immensely important and fascinatingly diverse plants.