After writing about pastures and farmlands, I wanted to craft a quick word list of the various grasses and plants that can be included. The purpose of these lists is to give writers a plethora of words to use in their writing. The other part to these lists is that the actual item on the list has a unique description that can add color and realism to writing. I’ll give a short physical description for each, but I highly recommend looking up the pasture plants and trees that interest you so you can visualize what your imaginary landscape looks like.
Grass
Grasses all look basically the same, but there are a couple differences between the MANY grass species. From a feel perspective, there’s stiff grass and soft grass. I realized this fairly quickly when I visited Idaho. The thin strands bent quickly and reminded me of a rug as I ran my fingers through it. Very different from grass in Florida and North Carolina where it jabs you and takes a fight to fold.
Tall grass and short grass actually are different variations of grass. Tallgrass is good for extended grazing periods but require a long rest period as well (Strickler, pg 76). Tallgrasses include Big Bluestem and Indiangrass. Shortgrass is perfect for year-round grazing, though depending on drought periods, the grass can be less nutrient (Strickler, pg 77). Shortgrasses include Little Bluestem, Sideoats Grama, and Buffalograss.
Then there’s bunchgrass. Bunchgrass is tallgrass that grows as a clump or tuft rather than a single sprout (https://coconino.az.gov). Eastern Gamagrass and Blue Grama are bunchgrasses native to prairies. From my reading, it seems tallgrass and shortgrass are fairly nutrient for animals but bunchgrass isn’t. Many grasses vary in their resilience to droughts, nutritional value, and seasons for growing. Number one consideration is that every grass, while they look alike, doesn’t work in every climate or have the same properties.
A couple fun grasses for more color would be plants like Sudangrass and Sorghums. These are best in dry areas because they consistently grow tall (Strickler, pg 126). Sudangrass has reed-like stems with large leaves sprouting out of the top and the sides. Sort of like a palm tree but less woody. Sorghums can be likened to pond reeds with the large seeded bulbs on the end of each stem. The look of the bulbed end, whether compact or flowered, depends on if it’s a forage or grain version.
Unique Plants: Legumes
- Alfalfa – Mentioned this one in my previous post, but there is a catch: too much can kill. It’s like chocolate; while it tastes good and has some benefits, there’s an element to it that’s toxic. Alfalfa has small purple flowers, but is mainly green and gets ground and compacted into cubes for feeding (I usually saw this with horses). Alfalfa is dangerous before it has bloomed because of how the proteins in it react to an animal’s digestive system. This reaction is defined as bloat as their system is overloaded.
- Clovers – I’m not talking about the lucky four-leaf, though that probably fits in here. The clovers I’m mentioning actually bloom. Red clovers have pink flowers with layers of thin petals while Alsike clovers have white and pink petals that stick out like spikes. Clovers like Alsike are good for flooded pastures while others like White clover have more nutritional value.
- Non-bloating – Bird’s-foot Treefoil, Sainfoin, and Cicer Milkvetch are all examples of legumes that have proteins that prevent bloat. Treefoil have long green stems with small leaves that blossom heart-shaped petal flowers. Sainfoin resemble snapdragon flowers with their long stems heavily populated with tiny flowers. Cicer Milkvetch are more bulbous.
- Peas – Yes, the little green nuisances you scrape off your plate into the garbage. The crop itself is good for foraging, though the time of year depends on the pea plant.
Unique Plants: Forbs
These small plants offer more support for drought tolerance thanks to their extensive root systems. With more mineral nutrients than most legumes and grasses, they offer variety to a grazing animal’s diet while blooming flowers for pollinating bugs (Strickler, 112-13).
- Chicory – These spindly plants have long stems with small purple-blue flowers that have thin petals spread like a pompom. It’s considered a cool-season plant, though it grows despite warm temperatures thanks to their deep roots (captures water within soil).
- Plantain – With large leaves and long seeded stems, plantains have a plethora of nutritional benefits. One bonus is that when consumed by animals, the microbs in the plant supress methane production.
- Burnet – The leaves have a scissor edge that resembles cut paper leaves. This grazing plant is good all season unlike other grasses and such.
- Sunflowers – Everyone knows what a sunflower looks like, so I don’t need to tell you about the pretty yellow petals. What was news to me is that their deep root systems reduce drought and their edible during the late season.
- Cup plant – Tolerant in wet climates, these stemmed plants with little yellow flowers have large bowl leaves for holding water. It can’t be grazed on continuously, but offers some nutritional value.
- Compass plant – This leafy montrosity resembles a weed but actually has more in common with cup plants. The deep roots and reorienting leaves fight against the wind and make them drought tolerant.
- Purple coneflower – This cute little flower is more for decoration than anything else.
- Squash, pumpkins, melons – These fruits are a farmer’s best friend as supplemental grazing options when grass grows scarce in winter. Not to mention that people benefit off the growth of these plants.
Crops
Some crops double as pasture plants. Wheat, oat, and barley are two such crops. Wheat can be lightly grazed on during a particular stage, but then animals have to be removed in order to let the grain grow properly. Oats are good for foraging (grazing). Barley is good for beer and livestock feed, so having some in a pasture works.
Turnips, radishes, and kale are examples of brassicas, plants within the cabbage family that offer good forage. These vegetables are low in fiber and vitamin B so animals will require more than just these. Strickler talks about brassicas composing 30-50% of their intake (pg 141).
Trees
- Black Walnut – The branches of these trees start higher on the trunk and grow shorter at the tip. The leaves resemble a stretched raindrop with clearly visible veins. The tree grows heavy lime-green fruits that have the walnuts inside for harvesting.
- Thornless Honeylocust – Perhaps the weirdest name I’ve ever heard though the tree is nice. Semi-thick foliage via oblong leaves fills most of the light bark tree. It grows a sugary pod that livestock likes to eat, though there is a second version that has poisonous thorns.
- Mulberry – More like a tall shrub than a tree, these plants have thick foliage and grow mulberries which are small clusters of blackish berries. The berries don’t keep well, but livestock (especially pigs and chickens) forage off the fruit and even the leaves.
- Oak – I feel like oak trees are sort of famous yet I rarely know what they look like. Their leaves are lobed rather than a clean edge, and whether the lobes are round or serrated determines whether it’s a red or white oak (forestwildlife.org). Obviously they grow acorns and a home for wildlife, but they also feed pigs with their fallen nuts.
- Chestnut – With long serrated leaves and spiny looking flowers, these trees have the most character of the lot. These trees grow bur-like fruit that hold their claim to fame: chestnuts. Their branches grow lower to the ground than most.
- Pine – Commonly recognized as Christmas trees, pine trees have needle leaves and layers of branches rather than a chaotic spread. In the case of pastures, they only provide a wind barrier and nice decoration. They’re also grown if wood is needed quickly.
- Apple and Pear Trees – Offering excellent forage and protection from the elements, apple and pear trees sport their claim to fame amongst oblong leaves. Both trees flower before growing fruit, so they could be an interesting backdrop for a story.
- Hazelnut – Hazelnut trees have wide leaves with a slight serration along the edge. Shorter than some of the trees listed, it resembles a bush with its massive collection of branches and leaves. Obviously it grows hazelnuts, the nut spurting from a small collection of leaves like a flower bud. These nuts work well for humans and pigs.
Final Thoughts: There’s so Much More
It’s dizzying to think that there’s so much nature and it’s sad that I can’t talk about all of it. Mainly because I’m not a farmer and I can only go so far into the rabbit hole before I climb out. Either way, I hope this is a good start and gives you an understanding that nature is more than grass and pretty flowers. There are trees, tall grasses, grass-looking plants, shrubs, nuts, fruit, and more.
Restricting your scenery restricts your reader’s imagination and ability to connect with the story. You don’t need to take ten pages describing a painting like Moby Dick, but taking a paragraph to bring a field to life will make all the difference for a reader. Don’t be afraid to dig deep, explore, learn, and write what you find. Happy hunting and let me know how it goes.