review
The Grasses Basic Book by Arie van den Bremer is an accessible basic guide for novice grass connoisseurs. Chock full of grasses and related plants from the Netherlands and Belgium. An interesting book can even be made about that very ordinary grass, because there is not one type of grass. The book is therefore not about the monoculture of our short-mowed lawns, but rather about stems with more or less lush spikes. The Grasses Basic Book has been nominated for the Jan Wolkers Prize 2015.
Grasses
The book describes dozens of types of grasses: 86 types of grasses, 43 cyper grasses, and 14 Russians from the Netherlands and Belgium. The book is full of photos and is a nice guide for those who start recognizing and identifying grasses and grasses. The different types can be quickly and reliably identified on the basis of the photos and detailed photos. The species in the book range from reed to annual meadow grass, from sand sedge to wool grass and from rush rush to rough field rush. In the book we find three families, those of the grasses, the cyper grasses and the russians.
Grasses
Grass is a green plant that is food for grazers. Grasses are perennials with many sprouts and linear blades.
Cyper grasses
Cyper grasses are a family of herbs, with a grassy or russet-like appearance. The sedge is an example of a cyper grass that occurs in northwestern Europe.
Russians
Russians are a family of herbaceous plants that are monocotyledons. They grow on poor soils in temperate to cold regions and on tropical mountains. Russians have small flowers.
Takes place
The photos contain symbols that help to identify. For example, does the grass have one spikelet or does it have a compound spikelet. The symbols indicate which type of spike belongs to which type of grass. If there is one spikelet on a stalk and you have seen a grass that you want to identify with a composite spikelet, then you have to browse through the book, look at photos and read symbols. The grass guide contains information about the location, shape and the different plant parts. You will learn about the inflorescence, seeds, stems and rhizomes. Anyone who has seen this book and only leafed through it will see the beauty of these plants, which are often wrongly labeled as weeds. After studying this guide, you will see the grasses with different eyes.
Subtle
The book deals with common and not too rare species as well as cultivated grasses such as rye, oats and barley. It is a handy guide for nature and garden lovers, farmers and for those who want to know more about nature and are interested in the plants that are often in the dark because they have such a modest inflorescence. No large and colorful flowers to flirt with, but subtle inflorescences that you sometimes have to look for, so small.
The grasses and their relatives are often treated like stepchildren and receive less attention than the lush flowering plants, but those who have an eye for them will see the beauty of the grasses, cypergrasses and russians. This Basic Guide is a unique and useful field guide that amateurs and professionals alike will enjoy.
Grasses basic guide
Author: Arie van den Bremer
- Language: Dutch
- Number of pages: 148
- Publisher: Knnv
- Released April 2015
- Price: ?? 21.95
The author previously published a similar basic guide to lichens.
Jan Wolkers Prize 2015
The Grasses Basic Book has been nominated for the Jan Wolkers Prize 2015, together with four other nature books:
- The Italian driver – Hans Dorrestijn
- Dragonfly larvae – Christophe Brochard & Ewoud van der Ploeg
- Not without each other, flowers and insects – Louis Schoonhoven and others
- Wilderness, residential area and colony – Louwrens Haquebord
