Looking at grass: Grasslands

I've often mentioned that the area where I live is described as a grassland and while it often looks uniformly green in summer, a closer look shows hundreds of different types of grass. Although I've focused a lot on the wildflowers in the area, the grasses are just as varied and interesting. The grasses are the "glue" that holds everything together: their roots hold the soil together, preventing it all from washing away and providing shade for many smaller plants to survive the harsh sun.

Grasses in grasslands also have a range of interesting flower forms. The grass above flowers early in the season and still looks quite sparse because this picture was taken at the beginning of spring and it was one of the first grasses to re-establish after the fire in winter. Grasses such as these also have underground rootstocks that enable them to regenerate early in the season, before there is much rain.

This area is described as Sourveld, meaning that the grasses are not palatable to large grazing mammals and livestock. This is a good thing because large grazing mammals would trample and destroy the fragile ecosystem in a very short time. In the past, these rocky areas were home to small buck species and animals such as hares that survived without doing too much damage to their surroundings.