I was walking on a beautifully manicured lawn this afternoon. The blades of grass, each straining for more sunlight, looked familiar. Where else had I seen such structures? Then it hit me: the tightly-packed plants and their root system are a perfect analogy of the cellular membrane. Today, the term “grass roots” has come to mean something way different than the simple biological term. When you search for images of grass roots on the Internet, you get a collection of community activist groups. You’ve got your grass roots music, grass roots social changers and grass roots gun totin’ activists. But for the botanist, the root system of grass plants is an interconnected latticework underground. There is far more to the root system than meets the eye. And what is remarkable to the point of amazement is the similarity in appearance of my lawn to the membranes throughout life. See for yourself!