Grass covers more of the planet than any other plant family. About 20% of all Earth’s vegetation is grass species — that’s more than all forests combined.
Grasslands take up 31–43% of Earth’s land surface. This includes savannas, prairies, and steppes — meaning nearly half the land you see on a globe could be grass-dominated.
Grasses evolved 66 million years ago… right around when dinosaurs disappeared. Some researchers think grass-eating mammals helped spread it so successfully.
Bamboo — the tallest grass — can grow up to 91 cm (35 inches) in a single day. That’s over 1.5 inches an hour, meaning you could literally hear it growing if you sat quietly.
There are more than 12,000 species of grass — from rice and wheat to the humble lawn. Yes, most of what humans eat (rice, corn, wheat, oats, barley, sugarcane) is just… grass seeds.
Cows, zebras, and most large grazers wouldn’t exist without grass. Its fibrous leaves contain silica, which wears down teeth — which is why grazers evolved constantly-growing molars.
Grass literally shaped human civilization. The domestication of wild grasses like wheat and barley kickstarted farming, cities, and… all of history.
The largest man-made monoculture on Earth? Lawns. In the US alone, turfgrass covers over 40 million acres — more than any single food crop.
