Poaceae, the grass family, includes some 12,000 species in 700 genera. Of these, 37 species plus interspecific hybrids, in 18 genera, have suitable growth habit to have been developed as turfgrasses.
The 18 genera of turfgrasses are in 7 of the 28 grass tribes, 4 warm-season tribes, Andropogoneae (Bothriochloa, Eremochloa); Cynodonteae (Bouteloua, Buchloe, Cynodon, and Zoysia); Eragrostideae (Dactyloctenium); Paniceae (Axonopus, Digitaria, Paspalum, Pennisetum, Stenotaphrum) and 3 cool-season tribes, Aveneae (Agrostis); Poeae (Festuca, Lolium, Poa, Puccinellia); and Triceae (Agropyron).
Warm-season turfgrasses such as bermudagrass, Cynodon dactylon, are C4 plant species which are well adapted to hot dry climates by physically separating the initial carbon fixation from carbon dioxide (CO2) in a 4-carbon molecule in mesophyll cells, which diffuses to specialized bundle-sheath cells for sugar production by the Calvin Cycle.
Cool-season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass, Poa pratensis and tall fescue, Lolium arundinaceum, are C3 plant species with no physical separation of carbon fixation (in an initial 3-carbon molecule) from the Calvin Cycle that produces sugars. The C4 vs. C3 metabolic distinction is correlated with adaptive differences in other characteristics such as adaptation to warm vs. cool climates and susceptibility to insects and diseases.
Turfgrass breeders use traditional methods of hybridization and progeny selection, transgenesis (GMO), and discovery within natural occurring populations to find improved genotypes of turfgrass with resistance to biotic and environmental stresses and acceptable performance in appearance and play. Thousands of cultivars or trade types have resulted.
AzNative – posted 29 June 2013 13:43 Will Seville SA tolerate heat up to 115? My Bermuda isn’t shade tolerant, and in the middle of summer I have partial shade.
shammock12 – posted 05 April 2014 15:07 I laid St.Augustine sod last early December – well I had someone else do it. However, I have noticed that the roots never took to the soil. I believe it is a lost…
TampaFL – posted 24 June 2014 14:33 So I moved into a home with St Augustine Grass with no knowledge on how to take care of it. It was lush and green when we moved in and 3-4 weeks later…
RonM – posted 23 July 2014 11:47 Does anyone know of a weed killer that can kill the St. Augustine grass in my Bermuda lawn without killing the Bermuda? Phil Busey – posted 23 July 2014 16:37 Herbicides that harm…
Spriteman – posted 12 November 2012 20:27 Just put down my fertilizer and Atrazine weed killer for the winter. My local lawn & garden store says that this will provide nutrients over the winter and prevent new weed germination in…
coullion – posted 10 August 2012 10:58 My lawncare company inadvertenly sprayed my lawn with Roundup instead of insecticide 2 weeks ago. The owner of the company assures me that if the runners are still there he can bring the…
cocoinkaty – posted 01 April 2012 12:14 I lost my 3 acre yard to the parched/scorched earth drought that was 2011. Upon arrival at the house (navasota,TX) this week I found an entire yard of dandelions and bluebonnetts. ok with…
Adra – posted 16 June 2012 07:55 My usually perfect lawn guy cut my beautiful St. Augustine too low yesterday and it looks awful! I haven’t seen it look this bad in years so it took me a while to…
JC6457 – posted 18 June 2012 15:15 Just over 3 weeks ago we put in Seville St. Augustine sod. The day after we laid it, we had 2 weeks of heavy rain every day.The grass looked amazing; nice green color…
ozk – posted 05 October 2011 10:47 I sprayed spectracide weed stop for lawns on my St Augustine grass two weeks ago. This past friday when i mowed the lawn the grass was coming up by the roots and now…