Task
This is a quest to better understand plants that most of us ignore. While you're learning about the grasses, rushes and sedges, take a few moments to think about the role each has played in our developing civilizations.
By the end of the quest, you should be able to tell grasses, rushes and sedges from one another, and explain to someone else how they can do the same thing. You should also have a much better sense of how important each type of plant has been to humans and their civilizations.
Before you finish this question, you'll write two brief (one page) papers, the first describing the differences between the types of plants and how best to tell one from another, and the other discussing the important roles each type of plant has held for humans and civilizations.
Are grasses, rushes and sedges good for more than just providing a soft surface on which to walk? Take the quest -- then decide.