- Annual – A plant that germinates from seed, flowers, and dies within the same year
- Auricle – A structure that occurs in pairs at the sheath of some grasses
- Biennial – A plant which lives for two years; typically forms a basal rosette during the first year and flowers and dies in the second year
- Blade – The un-rolled or un-folded upper portion of a leaf that is held in place by the sheath
- Blend – A combination of two or more varieties of the same grass species
- Bulb – An underground stem surrounded by layers of thick, fleshy modified leaves
- Capsule – A dry, dehiscent fruit composed of more than one carpal
- Collar – The outer side of a grass leaf at the junction of the blade and sheath. It is found on the abaxial side of the leaf blade on the opposite side of the ligule
- Cool-season – A term describing grasses that grow best in a temperature range of 60 to 75F (15 to 24C). Examples include fescues, ryegrasses, and bentgrasses.
- Cotyledon – The first leaf to emerge from a germinating seed
- Cyathia – An inflorescence in the genus Euphorbia that consists of a cup-like involucre
- Decumbent – Reclined on the ground but with a tip ascending
- Dicot – A plant embryo with two cotyledons
- Digitate – Branches of an inflorescence originating from a single point, as in the fingers of a hand
- Elliptic – Broadest at the middle and narrow towards each end
- Entire leaf – A leaf with continuous margins; margins not divided, toothed, or notched
- Floret – The basic unit of the grass spikelet, a reduced flower
- Glabrous – Smooth, hairless
- Inflorescence – The flowering portion of a plant
- Involucre – A whorl of bracts subtending a flower or flower cluster
- Lanceolate – Lance-shaped; much longer than wide
- Leaf axil – The upper portion of where the leaf connects to the stem
- Leaf margin – The edge of a leaf
- Ligule – A membranous or hairy appendage on the adaxial surface of the grass leaf at the junction of the sheath and blade
- Mixture – A combination of two or more varieties of grass from different species
- Monocot – A plant embryo with a single cotyledon
- Obovate – A leaf that is attached at the narrow end and widens towards the tip
- Ovate – A leaf that is attached at the broad end and narrows towards the tip
- Palmate – Divided from a common point, like the fingers of a hand
- Panicle – An inflorescence where the flowering bodies are not sessile or individually pedicled to the central axis of the inflorescence
- Perennial – A plant that lives for three or more years
- Perfect – A spikelet or flower that has pistillate and staminate reproductive structures
- Petal – An individual segment of the corolla
- Pinnately compound – A compound leaf with more than 3 leaflets individual arranged on opposite sides of an elongated axis
- Pistillate – Having a pistil but not stamens
- Prostrate – Lying flat on the ground
- Pubescent – Covered with short, soft hairs
- Raceme – An inflorescence where the flowering bodies are individually pedicled to the central axis of the inflorescence
- Rhizomatous – A growth habit that consists of underground lateral stems called rhizomes
- Rhizomes – Underground lateral stems that are able to produce new shoots and roots allowing many grass species to spread laterally
- Rosette – A cluster of leaves radiating outward at or near ground level
- Sheath – The tubular, basal portion of a leaf that encloses the stem
- Simple leaf – A leaf blade which is not separated into leaflets
- Spicate – Spike-like
- Spike – An inflorescence where the spikelets are individually and directly attached to the central axis of the inflorescence
- Spikelet – The flowering body in grasses and the basic unit of the grass inflorescence
- Staminate – Having a stamen but not pistils
- Striations – Deep ridges, typically length-wise
- Stoloniferous – A growth habit that consists of above – ground lateral stems called stolons
- Stolons – Above-ground lateral stems that are able to produce new shoots and roots allowing many grass species to spread laterally
- Tillers – Aerial shoots that emerge upward from the crown and grow within the sheaths of older leaves
- Tuber – A short, fleshy underground stem modified for food storage
- Umbel – An inflorescence in which the pedicels arise as from the structure of an umbrella
- Vernation – The manner in which the newest leaf blade is arranged in the shoot; it can be either rolled or folded
- Warm-season – A term describing grasses that grow best in a temperature range of 80 to 95F (26 to 35C). Examples include Bermudagrass, Centipedegrass, and Zoysiagrass.
- Whorled – Arranged in a circular pattern; as in multiple leaves whorled around a stem