Grass Block

This article is about the solid block. For the non-solid block, see Grass. For other uses, see Grass (disambiguation).

Grass Block

Renewable	Yes
Stackable	Yes (64)
Tool
Blast resistance	0.6
Hardness	0.6
Luminant	No
Transparent	No
Flammable	No
Catches fire from lava	No

A grass block is a natural block that generates abundantly across the surface of the Overworld.

Obtaining

A grass block can be obtained by mining it using a tool enchanted with Silk Touch. Otherwise, it drops dirt. It can also be obtained by killing an enderman that is holding a grass block.

Block	Grass Block
Hardness	0.6
Tool
Breaking time
Default	0.9
Wooden	0.45
Stone	0.25
Iron	0.15
Diamond	0.15
Netherite	0.1
Golden	0.1

Natural generation

Grass blocks generate naturally in most biomes in the Overworld and as part of villages.

Spread

Grass can spread to nearby dirt blocks, but not coarse dirt. Grass spreading without player intervention depends heavily on the time of day.‌^{[Java Edition only]} For a dirt block to accept grass from a nearby grass block, the following requirements must be met:

1. The dirt block receiving grass must be within a 3×3×5 range of the source grass block where the source block is in the center of the second topmost layer of that range.
2. The source grass block must have a light level of 9 or brighter directly above it.‌^{[Java Edition only]}
3. The block directly above the dirt block must allow light to pass through it and hit the dirt block, even though actual light level does not matter. That means blocks that partially let light through such as stairs and slabs must not have their light-blocking side(s)‌^{[Java Edition only]} facing the dirt block.
4. The block directly above the dirt block must not be lava, water, or a waterlogged variant of a block.

When Grass is Random ticked, it spreads by checking 4 blocks within range, and converting any dirt blocks selected into Grass.

Though water and lava are both light-filtering blocks (meaning they decrease sky light by 1 level but do not affect block light), other light-filtering blocks such as ice and slime blocks do not block grass from spreading to the dirt block. Grass blocks can grow under all other transparent blocks like glass, fences, or torches. Grass jumps directly from one block to a neighbor and is not affected by gaps or other blocks being "in the way." Grass blocks spread at random intervals and have an equal chance of spreading to any suitable dirt blocks that are in range. Because grass can spread as much as 3 levels downward, it tends to spread down slopes much faster than it spreads up them.

Mob loot

Endermen can pick up grass blocks, and drop the blocks they are holding if killed, making it the only way to obtain grass blocks without the use of Silk Touch.

Appearance

Plains (left) and forest (right) grass colors.

The coloration of grass blocks is dependent on the biome they are in. A grass block always uses the color set to its location, regardless of how it was placed or of its source. This affects the side and top of the block. Grass and leaves similarly change color with the biome.

These biome-specific colors also appear on maps.‌^{[Bedrock Edition only]}

List of colors

These values are generated by the biome dyeing algorithm. See Biome colors for more information.

Biome	Category	Rainfall	Grass Color	Temperature Affects	Render
Badlands	Mesa	No	#90814d	No
Badlands Plateau	Mesa	No	#90814d	No
Beach	Beach	Rain	#91bd59
Birch Forest	Forest	Rain	#88bb67
Birch Forest Hills	Forest	Rain	#88bb67
Cold Ocean	Ocean	Rain	#8eb971
Dark Forest	Forest	Rain	#507a32
Dark Forest Hills	Forest	Rain	#507a32
Deep Cold Ocean	Ocean	Rain	#8eb971
Deep Frozen Ocean	Ocean	Rain	#8eb971
Deep Lukewarm Ocean	Ocean	Rain	#8eb971
Deep Ocean	Ocean	Rain	#8eb971
Deep Warm Ocean	Ocean	Rain	#8eb971
Desert	Desert	No	#bfb755
Desert Hills	Desert	No	#bfb755
Desert Lakes	Desert	No	#bfb755
End Barrens	The End	No	#8eb971
End Highlands	The End	No	#8eb971
End Midlands	The End	No	#8eb971
Eroded Badlands	Mesa	No	#90814d	No
Flower Forest	Forest	Rain	#79c05a
Forest	Forest	Rain	#79c05a
Frozen Ocean	Ocean	Snow	#80b497
Frozen River	River	Snow	#80b497
Giant Spruce Taiga	Taiga	Rain	#86b783
Giant Spruce Taiga Hills	Taiga	Rain	#86b783
Giant Tree Taiga	Taiga	Rain	#86b87f
Giant Tree Taiga Hills	Taiga	Rain	#86b87f
Gravelly Mountains	Extreme Hills	Rain	#8ab689
Gravelly Mountains+	Extreme Hills	Rain	#8ab689
Ice Spikes	Icy	Snow	#80b497
Jungle	Jungle	Rain	#59c93c
Jungle Edge	Jungle	Rain	#64c73f
Jungle Hills	Jungle	Rain	#59c93c
Lukewarm Ocean	Ocean	Rain	#8eb971
Modified Badlands Plateau	Mesa	No	#90814d	No
Modified Jungle	Jungle	Rain	#59c93c
Modified Jungle Edge	Jungle	Rain	#64c73f
Modified Wooded Badlands Plateau	Mesa	No	#90814d	No
Mountain Edge	Extreme Hills	Rain	#8ab689
Mountains	Extreme Hills	Rain	#8ab689
Mushroom Fields	Mushroom	Rain	#55c93f
Mushroom Field Shore	Mushroom	Rain	#55c93f
Nether	Nether (all biomes)	No	#bfb755
Ocean	Ocean	Rain	#8eb971
Plains	Plains	Rain	#91bd59
River	River	Rain	#8eb971
Savanna	Savanna	No	#bfb755
Savanna Plateau	Savanna	No	#bfb755
Shattered Savanna	Savanna	No	#bfb755
Shattered Savanna Plateau	Savanna	No	#bfb755
Small End Islands	The End	No	#8eb971
Snowy Beach	Beach	Snow	#83b593
Snowy Mountains	Icy	Snow	#80b497
Snowy Taiga	Taiga	Snow	#80b497
Snowy Taiga Hills	Taiga	Snow	#80b497
Snowy Taiga Mountains	Taiga	Snow	#80b497
Snowy Tundra	Icy	Snow	#80b497
Stone Shore	None	Rain	#8ab689
Sunflower Plains	Plains	Rain	#91bd59
Swamp	Swamp	Rain	#6A7039	If the temperature is below -0.1, #4C763C is used.	/
Swamp Hills	Swamp	Rain	#6A7039	If the temperature is below -0.1, #4C763C is used.	/
Taiga	Taiga	Rain	#86b783
Taiga Hills	Taiga	Rain	#86b783
Taiga Mountains	Taiga	Rain	#86b783
Tall Birch Forest	Forest	Rain	#88bb67
Tall Birch Hills	Forest	Rain	#88bb67
The End	The End	No	#8eb971
The Void	None	No	#8eb971
Warm Ocean	Ocean	Rain	#8eb971
Wooded Badlands Plateau	Mesa	No	#90814d	No
Wooded Hills	Forest	Rain	#79c05a
Wooded Mountains	Extreme Hills	Rain	#8ab689

Usage

Using bone meal on grass blocks causes grass, tall grass, ferns,‌^{[Bedrock Edition only]} large ferns,‌^{[Bedrock Edition only]} and flowers to grow.

Passive mobs tend to wander toward grass blocks. They also wander toward light.

When a sheep eats a grass block, the block becomes dirt, and a sheared sheep regrows its wool.

Tilling a grass block with a hoe converts it to a farmland block.

Dirt paths can be created by using any type of shovel on the side or top of a grass block with air above it. The shovel loses 1 durability for each dirt path block created.

Death

Grass dies and changes to dirt after a random time (when a random tick lands on the block) if directly covered by any opaque block. Transparent blocks can kill grass in a similar manner, but only if they cause the light level above the grass block to be four or below (like water does), and the surrounding area is not otherwise sufficiently lit up.

Spawning

In Java Edition animals occasionally spawn on grass blocks that have light level 9 or brighter in the space directly above. This is quite rare and requires that there be few other animals nearby or in the spawn chunks. Most animals are instead created along with the terrain.

In Bedrock Edition most animals require surface grass blocks (grass blocks with no solid block anywhere above them at the same x, z coordinate) to spawn. Animals regularly spawn in most overworld biomes on surface grass blocks that have light level 7 or brighter in the space directly above.

A snowy grass block with a layer of snow on top of it.

Turning into a snowy grass block

Grass blocks instantly turn into a snowy grass block if a layer of snow or a snow block is placed on top of the block. Removing the snow layer will instantly turn the block into a normal grass block.

Composting

Placing grass blocks into a composter has a 30% chance of raising the compost level by 1. ‌^{[Bedrock Edition only]}

Sounds

Java Edition:

Sound	Subtitles	Source	Description	Resource location	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	block.grass.break	subtitles.block.generic.break	1.0	0.8	16
	None	Blocks	Falling on the block with fall damage	block.grass.fall	None	0.5	0.75	16
	Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	block.grass.hit	subtitles.block.generic.hit	0.25	0.5	16
	Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	block.grass.place	subtitles.block.generic.place	1.0	0.8	16
	Footsteps	Blocks	Walking on the block	block.grass.step	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps	0.15	1.0	16

Bedrock Edition:

Sound	Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
?	Blocks	Once the block has broken	dig.grass	0.7	0.8
?	Blocks	Falling on the block with fall damage	fall.grass	0.4	1.0
?	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	hit.grass	0.3	0.5
?	Blocks	Jumping from the block	jump.grass	0.11	1.0
?	Blocks	Falling on the block without fall damage	land.grass	0.21	1.0
?	Blocks	Walking on the block	step.grass	0.3	1.0
?	Blocks	When the block is placed	use.grass	0.8	0.8

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Resource location	Block tags (JE)	Form	Translation key
Grass Block	grass_block	bamboo_plantable_on enderman_holdable valid_spawn moss_replaceable lush_ground_replaceable mineable/shovel dirt	Block & Item	block.minecraft.grass_block

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Resource location	Numeric ID	Form	Translation key
Grass Block	grass	2	Block & Item	tile.grass.name

Block states

See also: Block states

Java Edition:

Name	Default value	Allowed values	Description
snowy	false	false true	If true, the block uses a snowy side and top texture. In-game, this is true when a snow block or snow is on top.

History

Java Edition pre-Classic
Cave game tech test					Added grass blocks.
					Grass blocks are one of the first two blocks in Minecraft, along with cobblestone.
					Grass generation is randomized, but it will only generate on fully lit tiles. The higher the Y level is, the more chance there will be of grass generating. At the top of the map, grass will generate on all fully lit tiles.
rd-20090515					The top texture and model of grass blocks have been changed.
					The model now uses new texture on the side faces and dirt texture on the bottom face.
					Grass now spreads to dirt under sunlight, allowing new grass blocks to be created.
					Due to the lack of dynamic lighting mode, grass in shadows eventually dies and changes to dirt.
Java Edition Classic
0.24 SURVIVAL TEST					Grass blocks now drop dirt when broken.
October 25, 2009					On Notch's blog, sheep were shown to eat grass to regrow wool on their bodies, reverting the block to dirt. Often, the grass would regrow just as quickly as sheep would eat it.
0.28					Sheep added, with the behavior described above.
0.30 (Creative)					Attempting to place grass blocks by means of hacking one's inventory in Classic Creative multiplayer now causes the server to automatically kick the player.
					Grass blocks in the player's inventory, at this point, have the green top-texture on all sides of the block.
Java Edition Indev
0.31		20091223-2			With the introduction of dynamic lighting, grass is now able to grow in more dimly-lit areas, not having to be fully lit by the sun.
		20100124			Grass blocks have now available from the chests in the Indev House.
					Grass blocks are now placeable, although grass placed from the chest never reverts to dirt when in the shade. The only way to kill the grass is to break the block, so that it drops as dirt.
		20100129			Grass blocks have no longer available from the chests in The Indev House.
20100206					Grass can now be tilled with a hoe into farmland, and had a chance of dropping seeds.
Java Edition Alpha
v1.0.4					Added snowy grass blocks.
					Snowy grass blocks appear when the grass blocks is under snow.
					The model of snowy grass blocks without snow use grass top texture on the top face.
					The model of grass blocks in item form has been changed. The model now uses grass block side texture on all faces.
v1.0.5					Snowy grass blocks appear when the grass blocks is under snow blocks.
v1.2.0		preview			The top texture of grass blocks and snowy grass blocks has been changed. The texture are now grayscale and are affected by biome colors.
					This change is not noticeable when snowy grass blocks under the snow layers or snow blocks.
Java Edition Beta
1.5					The model of grass blocks now use overlay texture on side faces when "Graphics: Fancy" is set in options. The texture is grayscale and is affected by biome colors.
					Grass blocks use old model when "Graphics: Fast" is set in options.
1.6		Test Build 3			Seeds can no longer obtained by using a hoe on a grass block; tall grass instead occasionally drops seeds when broken.
1.6.6					Bone meal now causes tall grass to grow when applied to grass blocks.
1.7					The model of snow has been changed.
1.8		Pre-release			It was again possible to legitimately obtain grass blocks in one's inventory, with the introduction of Creative mode.
		Pre-release 2 ;)			The model of grass block in item form have been changed. Grass blocks now use grass block top texture on the top face and and dirt texture on the bottom face. The top face is now tinted with  #7cbd6b.
					Name changed from Grass to Grass Block.
Java Edition
1.0.0		Beta 1.9 Prerelease			The swamp grass and foliage tints has been changed to hard-coded tints  #5C694E and  #496137.
		Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4			Grass blocks have become obtainable for the first time in survival mode through use of the Silk Touch enchantment, introduced with the new enchanting system.
		Beta 1.9 Prerelease 5			The top texture of grass blocks has been changed.
					This change is not noticeable when snowy grass blocks under the snow layers or snow blocks.
		Beta 1.9 Prerelease 6			The side texture of grass blocks has been changed.
		?			Slabs have now been changed so that they no longer revert grass blocks beneath them to dirt, allowing grass to spread to and from underneath.
1.1		11w49a			Grass block can now be eaten by sheep.
		12w01a			Grass blocks are now generating in superflat world type.
1.4.2		12w38a			New sounds were added for walking on grass blocks.
1.7.2		13w36a			A "grassless" dirt variant, that grass would not spread to, has now been added.
1.8		14w10a			The model of grass blocks in block form has been changed and now use the same model for when "Graphics: Fast" or "Graphics: Fancy" is set in options. The side texture of grass blocks is now tinted by biome.
		14w10b			The changes in snapshot 14w10a have been fixed.
		?			The top of snowy grass blocks is no longer biome-affected.
		14w25b			The item form of grass blocks now has the same color on the side as the top.
		14w27b			The top texture of grass is now rotated randomly, due to the addition of arrays to the block model format.
1.9		15w31a			Grass blocks can now be turned into grass paths by right-clicking on them with a shovel.
					Grass blocks can now be obtained by killing an enderman that is holding the block.
1.13		17w47a			The ID of grass blocks has been changed from grass to grass_block.
					Prior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 2.
1.14		18w48a			Grass blocks now generate in the updated plains villages.
		18w49a			Grass blocks now generate in the updated savanna villages and the new snowy tundra villages.
		18w50a			Grass blocks now generate in the updated desert and taiga villages.
		19w05a			Grass blocks are now renewable because wandering traders now offer to sell podzol.
		19w08a			The side texture of grass blocks has been changed.
					The side texture of snowy grass blocks and the texture of snow have been changed.
1.17		21w11a			The side texture of snowy grass blocks has been changed.
		21w16a			Grass blocks are now in the dirt tag.
Upcoming Java Edition
1.18		experimental snapshot 3			Grass blocks are no longer able to generate underwater.
Pocket Edition Alpha
Pre-release					Added grass blocks tinted with  #339933.
v0.1.0					Grass block has an item form. The model use grass block side texture on all faces.
v0.2.0					The textures of grass blocks have been changed.
v0.4.0					Grass can now be tilled with a hoe into farmland, and has a chance of dropping seeds.
v0.5.0					The side texture of grass blocks for block and item form has been changed. The model of item form now use separate top texture on top face.
v0.8.0		build 2			The side texture has been changed to texture before v0.5.0. The top texture for block form now tinted with  #87cd49. The top texture for item form has been changed to pre-tinted top texture which identical for block form.
		build 3			Grass now has a chance to drop beetroot seeds, carrots, or potatoes when tilled.
		build 4			Tilling can no longer spawn carrots or potatoes.
v0.9.0		build 1			The top texture in block form now tinted with biome colors. The side texture has been changed to various pre-tinted textures dependent by biome.
v0.11.0		build 1			Grass now can be pressed into grass path blocks when tapped with a shovel.
v0.12.1		build 1			Grass blocks no longer drop beetroot seeds when a hoe is used.
		build 8			Grass blocks no longer drop wheat seeds when a hoe is used.
		build 10			The sound of grass blocks has now been changed to match up with grass sound from Java 1.4.2.
		?			Grass blocks can now be obtained using the Silk Touch enchantment.
v0.14.0		build 1			Grass blocks can now be obtained by killing an enderman that is holding the block.
v0.16.0		?			The biome-dependent colors of grass blocks now appear on maps.
Bedrock Edition
1.11.0		beta 1.11.0.1			Grass blocks can now be used to fill up composters.
		beta 1.11.0.5			The side texture of grass blocks has been changed.
					The side texture of snowy grass blocks and texture of snow has been changed.
1.17.0		beta 1.17.0.50			The side texture of snowy grass blocks has been changed.
Legacy Console Edition
TU1	CU1	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added grass blocks.
TU3					Changed the texture of grass blocks.
		1.90			Changed the texture of grass blocks, again. It is not known if snowy grass changed at all, however.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0					Added grass blocks.

Issues

Issues relating to "Grass Block" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia

• Grass blocks and dirt blocks changing between each other is a common cause of chunk updates.
• A grass block has become the favicon for minecraft.net, and is the icon for the Minecraft launcher and the Bedrock Edition app.
• In MINECON's goodie-bags, grass, along with the creeper, diamond, and the player, were given as foldable decorations.