I've lost count of the number of times I've learned the names of grasses only to forget them by the time the flower and seed heads start waving in the wind the following year. But should I care? Identification of grasses is a specialist area and we should be able to enjoy the variety without overstretching ourselves.
Just walking along and seeing the accidental yet sometimes almost artistic composition is compensation for the fact that the early summer blooms of many flowering plants has past.
The convenience is that they are normally alongside the paths and tracks in the disturbed and semi-disturbed ground where they can grab the opportunity faster than most nearby weeds.
And there lots and lots of them.
How many of the hundreds of species are native or non-native we can safely leave to those who study with lenses such things as spikelets, glumes, ligules and awns.
Their heroic deeds have resulted in exhaustive classifications and a great vocabulary of names.
Perhaps in another life ...
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