Cellulose

A structural material within a plant, which is composed of carbohydrates linked together (a polysaccharide), with the chemical composition of a single ‘unit' being C6H10O5. These materials do breakdown fairly rapidly, having a half-life of about 2-weeks, and will therefore contribute little to thatch within a sward, in contrast to another grass organic component of lignin, which is much slower to breakdown and is also water repellent.

Cellulose, including hemicellulose compounds, form significant proportions of grass plant material, with one analysis of a mature perennial ryegrass sward found this as 59.5%, whilst another has found Common browntop bent to have 69.5%, and Yorkshire fog to have 69%.