Are Grass Blades Considered Leaves?

Many of us refer to the grass on our lawn as “blades of grass.” If someone were to refer to your lawn as “leaves of grass,” you might wonder what in the world they were talking about. From a technical standpoint, they’re half correct.

A blade of grass is a part of the grass’s leaf and can thus be considered a leaf. The grass is structured with a crown, stem, or culm, and then a leaf blade shooting out of a node. The blade is a name used for the leaf and also what the second half of the leaf is classified as.

This may be a confusing concept to digest, especially since we used “blades of glass” frequently in American English rather than “leaves of grass.” Below, I’ll talk about the classifications of grass and leaves, the anatomy of a blade of grass, and why you still might want to say “blades” when talking about grass.

The Classification of Grass

“Grass” is technically what is on your lawn, but we are typically referring to the whole family of plants when we say grass. Similarly, when you look at a garden and say, “what pretty flowers” rather than “those are pretty tulips, irises, and sunflowers,” you miss the definition of grass when you use the blanket term.

There are dozens of different classifications of grass. This is not a small family, and you might be surprised at what is classified as “grass.” When we classify grass, we do so by determining its functionality. Some of the most commonly known grasses are:

Lawn and forage grasses
Bamboo
Wheat
Rice
Barley
Rye
Corn
Sugarcane

Grass is not only used to cover our lawns and fill our parks but it also makes essential food. In addition, grasses fall under the category of Poaceae or Gramineae, and they’re known as monocotyledonous flowering plants. Technically, your grass is a flowering plant!

The Anatomy of a Blade of Grass

As mentioned above, there are many different types of grass, and each looks a little different from the other. Rye, barley, and wheat are large and sport large leaves and flowers. Bamboo is large and contains hard shoots, then flowers up and out with leaves.

Since we are talking about a “blade” of grass, I’m assuming we are talking about the grass you might find on your lawn. Different regions in America and around the world use different kinds of lawn grass. You’ll commonly find the following:

Bluegrass
Bentgrass
Ryegrasses
Fescues
Feather reed grass
Tufted hair grass
Bermudagrass
Carpet grass
Buffalograss

All these grasses bear a pretty similar construction once they get into the soil on your lawn. Typically, the anatomy of a piece of grass begins with the roots under the soil. This video, though a bit long, gives a visual of the anatomy and classification of grass:

As mentioned in the video, underneath the soil, the grasses will most likely have a senescent leaf and some rhizomes and nodes below ground connecting to the grass. Sitting on the grass above ground is the crown. You’ll also find the stems or culm, from which a node shoots out a leaf. This is where the “blade” takes up the second half of the leaf after the sheath.

A leaf of grass is not the entire “blade” of grass — if you refer to each piece of grass as the blade, as we tend to do in the English language. Instead, the “blade” is the part coming off the leaf. So, technically, it may be considered a part of the leaf.

However, a piece of grass or an individual grass plant doesn’t have just leaves. Grass is made up of a few different parts, and only the parts shooting off of the sheath are considered leaves.

Bottom Line: Grass Blades Are Considered Leaves

In strictly biological terms, the blades of grass are leaves. However, in terms of language, you need to be careful when defining “blades.”

If you consider a blade of grass to be the entire length from top to bottom on a piece of grass, then you are incorrect. The leaf of grass is the part shooting out of the stem or the sheath, which is also considered a “blade” of grass in its second half. In this case, blades and leaves are interchangeable.

It’s much easier to absorb this concept when you consider the different types of grass. The grass we have in our lawns and gardens is often small, and all of the parts look quite similar, being of the same color and texture. Consider the anatomy of a wheat plant, as shown in this video:

The classifications and differences are much easier to see on a different type of grass.

The Use of “Leaves” in Language

Though the above indicates the scientifically correct term for a blade of grass is “leaves” and vice versa, it doesn’t mean you need to replace it in your writing or conversation. A blade of grass is still colloquially and scientifically referred to as a blade of grass, and this is the correct usage in language.

Typically, in the American language, leaves are referred to as those things shooting off from plants, flowers, or that fall off trees. It’s rare in our language to find someone talking about grass in terms of “leaves,” especially “leaves of grass” rather than “blades of grass.” Also, the many phrases in the English language that involve “grass” are not interchangeable with the term “leaves.”

Are Blades of Grass Leaves or Stems?

Another common question is whether or not the blades of grass are technically their leaves or stem. Again, we have to consider whether or not we are speaking in technical terms for the purpose of language or science.

The blades of grass, which come out of the culms of grass, are technically leaves. The stems of grass are called the “culm”. They are not technically considered a part of the “blade,” though we colloquially refer to each piece of grass as a “blade” in the English language.

So, while technically, the blades of grass are the leaves, some people still refer to blades of grass when talking about the stem of the grass or the entire piece of grass as a whole. Therefore, it’s best to read the room and consider the context before dedicating yourself to a given definition.

What Is a Grass Leaf Called?

So what would a leaf on a piece of grass be called? If the above has made sense to you, the answer won’t be surprising.

The grass leaf is referred to as a blade of grass in biological terms. Though some people refer to the entire piece of grass as the blade, only the part coming out of the node is a blade. This is the leaf on a piece of grass, as the grass itself is not a leaf.

So when you see a lawn full of grass, only some of it is blades. The rest are stems and nodes.

Final Thoughts

A blade of grass is the part that shoots out of the internode, sheath, or stem, depending on what type of grass it is. The blades of grass are technically considered the leaves, as long as you define the blade correctly. Technically, they are classified as grass leaves.

Though biology and language do a lot of intertwining, the leaves vs. blades classification separates them just a bit. In biology, we can consider these blades of grass as leaves. However, it might be a confusing use of language to point out how the leaves are much greener on the other side.

Are Grass Blades Considered Leaves? | (2024)