Is Grass a Vegetable? Surprising Garden facts

Grass, a very interesting plant family. It is so common that most of us ignore it every day. We see grass everywhere even in our lawn. It is important vegetation for the ecosystem. In fact, any Garden ecosystem is incomplete without grass.

There are more than 1000 different species of grass ever recorded. You would be amazed to see how different these are in shape, size, and structure. From your garden grass to the tallest bamboo, everything is grass.

Is Grass a Vegetable? – Yes, All grasses are vegetable plants, at least for all grazing animals. If we can cook and consume it, it will be considered a vegetable.

An interesting question- isn’t it. Actually, we all think of grass as a plant. Relating to that it is expected to have roots, stems, and leaves. Other than that we expect some flower and fruits in a plant. The grass is a perfect fit for all these conditions.

So is grass a Plant? – Yes, definitely all type of grass is Plant. Grasses do have all the characteristics of a plant.

Are all Grass a vegetable or not?

Generally, we consider vegetables as a part of the plants that we can eat. So technically, everything including Roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits can be eaten so these are vegetables somehow. In facts, seeds of several plants are consumed and are very healthy for us.

Similarly, grass does have edible leaves, stems, and even seeds, so technically we can say these a type of vegetable.

Sometimes we don’t consider grass as a vegetable, the main reason for this approach is that we usually don’t eat it- as obvious. The definition of vegetable states that- “Every consumable part of a plant, which can be cooked is considered as a vegetable.”

Animals, like a cow, goat, buffalo, horse, and even donkeys depend on grass for their sustainability. Therefore, we can say that most grasses are consumable. In fact, Plants like wheat and maize are grass in nature and we consume the seeds of these plants.

This is very contradictory that some say the grass is a vegetable and others don’t.  It is so because people think of grass as small garden plants- that’s it. What they actually miss is the wide variety of plants that fall under this category. In fact, what we eat every day is so much related to these grasses.

Major Crops and Grains obtained from grass

• Wheat- A major food crop obtained from a Wheat plant- A type of grass.
• Maize
• Lemon Grass
• Sugar cane
• Bamboo shoots
• Sweet corns
• Many useful herbs

Can we eat Grass? – If I say the grass is a vegetable, Then It must be consumable- I think. In fact, we can eat the grass. Many a variety of grass is actually a part of our diet. Most of us don’t think wheat or rice as grass but believe me it is certainly a type of grass and we eat it regularly.

This means we can definitely eat most of the plants in the grass family.

Can we eat grass as a whole? – Now, this is interesting. We know that we can eat grass, but can we eat it completely, or only a part of it is good to eat? This is a matter of discussion. Actually, we get food from plants but only a part of most of them are truly consumable. So, we can eat grass but only a few parts are advisable to consume for better health. Seeds of several plants in grass family are actually good and recommended to eat. Most of the time we don’t eat grass as a Whole.

Up to now, we have discussed the conditions for considering grass as a vegetable. It is perfectly true that grass is a vegetable but can you point out some differences that separate grass from the vegetable category?

You should read- Is Okra a Fruit or Vegetable?

Why Isn’t Grass a vegetable?

Your answer may be something like that- We don’t eat grass, especially the garden or lawn grass. If we do so then what is the difference between us and a donkey. Ok, I am not criticizing any Animal, what I mean to say is that diet for everyone is very specific. What we like to eat is not necessary to be liked by all. So, in general consideration, lawn grass isn’t a vegetable for sure.

Another Important fact, Vegetable is a term related to culinary art not directly with Biology. Whatever we like to eat- if it can be cooked perfectly then only it is considered as a vegetable. So, I think grass doesn’t fit in that category unless you liked it in your plate in Breakfast or lunch every day.

A fact about grass for a plant as a whole to eat. It is not very good for digestion. In fact, most of us cannot digest grass completely. Also, it contains more roughage in the form of cellulose other than any nutrient or minerals. The nutrition value of the grass is also very low. It is not fit to keep us healthy and energetic.

Is eating grass Dangerous?

No, certainly not, eating grass is not always dangerous. Grasses are edible but to a limited extent. Only you should be careful about this limit. How much you eat is more important than what you eat considering any of the grass variety unless it is infected.

Eating grass can be dangerous only if it is grown in your lawn and treated with any chemical fungicide or pesticide. It is also dangerous to consume if you have any blockage problem as too much grass eating can make this problem even worse.

Other than that, any type of grass is perfectly edible. Interestingly, in some part of the world, the seeds and roots of grass is a staple diet. It is a good source of carbs if you don’t have anything else to eat.

Is grass a fruit or a Vegetable? – Concluding, Grass is a vegetative plant so it cannot be considered as a fruit. Though the most variety of grass bears some type of fruit that we can consume. Technically, we can say a Grass is a Vegetable and we can eat it whenever we want. The specific decision for this question is that any plant along with all grass variety can be considered as a vegetable only if we can cook and eat it.