Turfgrass Identification and Selection Casey Reynolds, PhD There are over 10,000 species of grasses in the Poaceae family and over 700 species of grasses found in Texas. Many of these species serve as a source of food, forage, biofuels, soil and land conservation, and ornamentals. However, there are also at least 12 species that are widely used as turfgrasses. These often serve as perennial ground covers in home lawns, athletic fields, golf courses, roadsides, etc. While many of these turfgrass species share similar characteristics, there…