Grasses that were once almost exclusively for pasture and meadow and now furnish ground cover for lawns, sportsfields, industrial parks and roadsides. Acreage of such mowed turf in the United States is reckoned in the tens of millions; in many states the turfgrass industry ranks among the top two or three “agricultural” pursuits. The same species important for grazing are also important for lawns. Grass is well adapted to repeated defoliation (grazing or mowing) because its meristem or growing point is basal, and for the most part only foliage tip growth is sacrificed.