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Lawns
Description
Lawns are patches of short grasses cultivated as landscape features around buildings, in parks, and on athletic fields. They are characteristic of suburban residental areas. In the lawn there are usually cultivated beds of herbaceous ornamentals and sparse plantings of nonnative shrubs and trees.
Selected Plants
Lawn in front of the new Science and Education Center
Herbs
- Agrostis capillaris (Rhode Island bent)
- Festuca rubra (Red fescue)
- Digitaria ischaemum (Crabgrass)
- Poa pratensis (Kentucky bluegrass)
- Poa annua (Annual bluegrass)
- Lolium perenne (Ryegrass)
- Thlaspi arvense (Field pennycress)
Occurrence
Lawns are uncommon in the forest but they are common in residential areas and golf courses nearby. There is a small lawn near the Science and Education Center and a larger lawn at the old headquarters building on Continental Road.
Ecology
Lawns are not a naturally occurring habit in our region, so they must be heavily maintained if they are to persist. They need to be regularly mowed, watered, and weeded throughout the growing season. They support a relatively depauperate flora of nonnative species.
If not maintained, a lawn is rapidly overtaken by weeds and eventually becomes a grassy meadow.
Also Called
- Reschke (1990): Mowed lawns; mowed lawns with trees
Selected References
For general references see the reference page.
- Bormann, F.H., D. Balmori, and G. Gabelle. 1962. Redesigning the American Lawn. A Search for Environmental Harmony. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1992. Healthy Lawn, Healthy Environment.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1998. Today's Lawns.
- Jenkins, V.S. 1994. The Lawn. History of an American Obsession. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
- Roach, M. (ed.) 1993. The natural lawn and alternatives. Plants and Gardens 49(3): 1-96.
Photos: Kerry Barringer