Final answer:
All forage grasses grow by producing cells in an intercalary meristem. This type of plant tissue is key to grasses' ability to regrow rapidly after being grazed or mowed. Located at the base of leaf blades or stem nodes, it allows for quick recovery and resumption of photosynthesis.
Step-by-step explanation:
All forage grasses grow by producing new cells within an intercalary meristem within the stem, located just above each node at the base of each internode. The intercalary meristem is a region of plant tissue that allows for rapid growth and regrowth of grasses, which is especially important when the grass is grazed by herbivores or mown by humans. Unlike apical meristems, which are located at the tips of roots and shoots, the intercalary meristems are unique to grasses and certain other monocots and are situated at the base of the leaves or at the nodes of stems.
This placement allows grasses to quickly recover from damage by regrowing the leaf blades. Plants like wheat keep the apical meristem near the ground, engaging in primary growth without the secondary growth (the growth that makes the roots and shoots of some plants wider and woody) seen in some other plants. Thus, a grass blade can continue producing photosynthetic tissue even after being cropped short.
Additionally, grasses like corn display a unique growth pattern where the 'stem' is composed of the sheaths of leaves, and the shoot meristem remains at the base of the plant. The actual stem elongation occurs relatively later and marks a shift to reproductive development with the formation of flowers and seeds. The adaptability of grasses to grow and regrow efficiently allows them to spread through stolons and rhizomes and is a key factor in their success as a family of plants.