bunch grass

6.6

Grasses that grow in separate clumps instead of in one continuous area

noun
/bʌntʃ ɡræs/

Specialized

: hierba en mechones

Ranchers prefer bunch grass because it resists overgrazing better than sod-forming grasses.

Examples

Many animals depend on bunch grasses for food.
The prairie was dotted with bunch grass that provided cover for wildlife.
In the arid West, bunch grass dominates the open rangeland.
The bunch grass in the field swayed gently in the wind.
We stood in a meadow of bunch grass and clover.
Ferrell can smell the familiar scent of burning bunch grass.
Hundreds of them moved between the oak trees and the bunch grass, around low huts settled among the dips and swales.

Synonyms

bunchgrass

vsbunch grass

Specialized

1 8.6

A grass that grows in tight clumps instead of spreading

is the same term written as two words rather than one

Antonyms

sod

11 2.2

A layer of soil with grass and roots held together

Surface Forms

bunch grass singular

bunch grasses plural

Morphology

bunch + grass

The meaning 'grasses that grow in distinct tufts' is directly derivable from combining 'bunch' (a small collection or tuft) with 'grass' (plants). This is a straightforward compositional pattern (a type of grass characterized by forming bunches) that a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer.

Etymology

Bunch grass: The noun bunch grass names grasses that grow in separate clumps rather than a flat lawn. The name comes from the picture of a bunch of grass, each plant making a small 'clump', so the term describes grasses that appear as little groups across open land.