Poaceae is the plant family that includes wheat, rice, and corn. Commonly called the grass family, it also contains barley, oats, millet, sugarcane, bamboo, and the grasses used in lawns and pastures.
The family is economically important because many of its members produce cereal grains. Wheat, rice, and maize provide a major share of the world’s food energy, while other grasses supply animal fodder, sugar, building materials, paper, thatch, and biofuel feedstocks.
Poaceae species typically have narrow leaves with sheaths that wrap around the stems. Their stems are often hollow between solid joints called nodes, and their flowers are arranged in specialized clusters called spikelets.
A common mistake is to classify every grain crop as a grass. Buckwheat, quinoa, and amaranth are often used like cereals but belong to other plant groups, so they are called pseudocereals. The family name Gramineae is an older alternative name for Poaceae.