Grass

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Grass is a natural map tile that is found in any biome that supports vegetation. It can grow on most soil above ground. It tends to grow quickly, as can be found by channeling an outdoor area. Its growth can indicate the impending growth of a tree. As dwarves and other creatures walk over it, they have a chance (determined by the value of the [GRASSTRAMPLE] token) of eroding it down to the base soil, on which trees and plants cannot grow. Elves have grasstrample 0. Dwarves have default grasstrample. Dragons have grasstrample 50. A mess of dwarves milling about your entrance will wear away all the grass eventually. A dragon does it with every step.

Moss and fungi, tiles similar to grass, appear in Subterranean biomes; they will grow on underground soil and muddy floors after any cavern has been breached. Livestock feed on them like they do normal grass.

Livestock

Livestock require a steady diet of grass in order to avoid starvation. As they eat, the grass is eroded as though it were trampled, gradually depopulating their pasture if it isn't large enough. As there are at most 4 bunches of grass per tile, grass that is consumed in the process of an animal grazing means that the base layer of soil is revealed until the grass grows back. There is currently no known way of determining how many of the maximum of 4 bunches of grass are present in any one tile.

Sand and clay

Grass growing on a soil floor of sand or clay will prevent the raw material from being collected for the glass or ceramic industries. If grass has grown on a collection activity zone you can easily clear it by designating a dirt road (b O) on top of it. A floor grate can be placed over a collection activity zone to prevent grass from growing while still allowing the raw material to be collected.

Fire

Grass can also be destroyed by fire and magma. Creatures such as fire imps can shoot fireballs when attacking, and said fireballs can set the grass on fire. If grass ignites, the fire will slowly spread to all connected grass, generating smoke as it burns. Fire turns grass into ashes, but not usable ashes. Anything that is flammable and stands on burning grass (if you look at it you will see "A fire") has a chance to catch fire each turn. Note that fire breath will also set grass on fire, as well as instantly turning it into ashes. Grassy slopes will not catch on fire, thus preventing the fire from spreading across z-levels.

Variation

During a Dry season, grass tiles on the screen change into dry grass tiles, but the effect is purely cosmetic. Also purely cosmetic, the d_init.txt file contains [VARIED_GROUND_TILES:YES]. If you don't like the grass looking like ,.`', try setting this to NO. The ground will turn into periods only.

In good biomes, you may find grass made up of bubbles and feathers. It acts just like regular grass for the livestock that eat it.

The wormy tendrils and staring eyes of Evil Grassland

In evil biomes, you may find grass made up of wormy tendrils and staring eyeballs. Like their good counterparts, they feed livestock normally. Wormy tendrils tend to wiggle constantly and staring eyeballs will blink from time to time.

In evil biomes that are also undead areas, much of the grass is dead, like the trees. Animals will not eat the dead grass. Assign a larger area for pastures so grazers can eat the patchy still-living grass.

Relationship to Real-World Grasses

All "grass" types in the game apart from the four special types found in evil and good biomes are actual plants in the real world. The vast majority of them are also true grasses (this includes bamboo) or at least close relatives - rushes, sedges and cattail. The vegetation of some extreme biomes uses non-grass plants: mountain avens, mountain heather and cloudberry in mountains, baby toe succulent and pebble plant in deserts. Other notable exceptions are the marsh thistle, knotgrass and meadowsweet.

V · T · E Plants
Crops and shrubs Surface Crops Alfalfa • Barley • Bitter vetch • Blood amaranth • Buckwheat • Cotton • Elephant-head amaranth • Finger millet • Flax • Fonio • Foxtail millet • Hard wheat • Hemp • Jute • Kaniwa • Kenaf • Maize • Oats • Papyrus sedge • Pearl millet • Pendant amaranth • Purple amaranth • Quinoa • Ramie • Red spinach • Rice • Rye • Single-grain wheat • Soft wheat • Sorghum • Spelt • Teff • Two-grain wheat • White millet Garden Artichoke • Asparagus • Bambara groundnut • Broad bean • Beet • Bilberry • Bitter melon • Blackberry • Blueberry • Cabbage • Caper • Cassava • Celery • Chickpea • Chicory • Cowpea • Cucumber • Cranberry • Eggplant • Garden cress • Garlic • Grape • Horned melon • Leek • Lentil • Lesser yam • Lettuce • Long yam • Mung bean • Muskmelon • Onion • Parsnip • Passion fruit • Pea • Peanut • Pepper • Pineapple • Potato • Purple yam • Radish • Raspberry • Red bean • Rhubarb • Soybean • Spinach • Squash • String bean • Sweet potato • Taro • Tomatillo • Tomato • Turnip • Urad bean • Watermelon • White yam • Wild carrot • Winter melon Other Blade weed • Bloated tuber • Fisher berry • Hide root • Kobold bulb • Longland grass • Muck root • Prickle berry • Rat weed • Rope reed • Sliver barb • Strawberry • Sun berry • Valley herb • Whip vine Subterranean Cave wheat • Dimple cup • Pig tail • Plump helmet • Quarry bush • Sweet pod
Trees Surface Abaca • Acacia • Alder • Almond • Apple • Apricot • Ash • Avocado • Banana • Bayberry • Birch • Bitter orange • Cacao tree • Candlenut • Carambola • Cashew • Cedar • Cherry • Chestnut • Citron • Coconut palm • Coffee • Custard-apple • Date palm • Desert lime • Durian • Feather tree • Finger lime • Ginkgo • Glumprong • Guava • Hazel • Highwood • Kapok • Kumquat • Larch • Lime • Lychee • Macadamia • Mahogany • Mango tree • Mangrove • Maple • Oak • Olive • Orange • Papaya • Paradise nut • Peach • Pear • Pecan • Persimmon • Pine • Plum • Pomegranate • Pomelo • Rambutan • Round lime • Rubber tree • Saguaro • Sand pear • Tea • Walnut • Willow Subterranean Black-cap • Blood thorn • Fungiwood • Goblin-cap • Nether-cap • Spore tree • Tower-cap • Tunnel tube
Grasses Surface Arrow bamboo • Bentgrass • Baby toes succulent • Blue sedge • Bubble bulb • Carpetgrass • Cattail • Cloudberry • Common reed • Cottongrass • Dallisgrass • Dog's tooth grass • Downy grass • Dropseed grass • Fescue grass • Field sedge • Golden bamboo • Grama • Hair grass • Hedge bamboo • Knotgrass • Marsh thistle • Meadow-grass • Meadowsweet • Mountain avens • Needle grass • Pebble plant • Purple moor grass • Reedgrass • Rush • Ryegrass • Satintail • Sawgrass • Staring eyeball • Velvet grass • White mountain heather • Wormy tendril • Zoysia Subterranean Cave moss • Floor fungus • Underlichen