One of the most useful tools in classification of sexual organisms is to determine whether or not the individuals in question are capable of interbreeding. The rationale is that plants that are more closely related tend to be more interfertile with each other than with more distantly related grasses. The generation of viable offspring is the most common criterion used to indicate successful fertilization. Within the grass family, grasses classified into different species on the basis of morphological characteristics often retain the ability to interbreed. In fact, such hybrid plants generated from morphologically distinguishable parents sometimes exhibit increased growth and competitiveness in a phenomenon known as hybrid vigor.

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