Poaceae

1 9.9

A group of grass plants that includes wheat, rice, and bamboo

noun
/poʊˈeɪsiˌi/

Specialized

: Poaceae

Five basic types of root systems: (a) tuft root systems typical of Poaceae.

Examples

The Poaceae family includes important crops like wheat and rice, which are essential for human nutrition.
Within the grass (Poaceae) there are two major clades.

Academic text (2017)
PERENNIAL GRASSES (Poaceae)

Blog text (1)
Grasses in the Poaceae family, such as bamboo and sugar cane, play significant roles in various ecosystems.
The Poaceae, commonly known as grasses, are vital for preventing soil erosion and providing habitat for wildlife.

Synonyms

grass family

vsPoaceae

Specialized

1 3.8

A family of plants including grasses like wheat and bamboo

is the scientific Latin name used in formal botanical contexts

Gramineae

vsPoaceae

Specialized

1 9.9

A large family of grass plants like wheat and bamboo

is the modern accepted family name replacing this older term

Graminaceae

vsPoaceae

Specialized

9.9

A family of grass plants that includes wheat, rice, bamboo, and reeds

is the currently accepted scientific name rather than this variant

family Graminaceae

vsPoaceae

Specialized

8.1

A large group of grass plants like wheat, rice, and bamboo

is the preferred scientific name rather than this formal variant

family Gramineae

vsPoaceae

Specialized

7.7

A large group of grass plants like wheat, rice, and bamboo

is the accepted current name replacing this variant in many texts

Surface Forms

Poaceae singular

Poaceae plural

Morphology

Poaceae = Poa (opaque) = Poa + aceae

The botanical family suffix '-aceae' is a Latinized scientific marker that is not transparently meaningful to an average B1 learner.

Etymology

Poaceae comes from the Greek word poa meaning 'grass' and the plant ending -aceae meaning 'family'. So Poaceae literally means the 'grass family', which is why it includes grasses and cereals like wheat, rice, bamboo and sugar cane.