What herbaceous flowering plants, other than grasses and sedges, contributed to the mammoth's diet?
Answer
Forbs
While the diet was overwhelmingly dominated by the fibrous content of grasses (*Poaceae*) and sedges (*Cyperaceae*), the ecosystem offered other supplementary vegetation. Woolly mammoths also consumed a measurable amount of forbs. Forbs are specifically defined as herbaceous flowering plants that are neither grasses nor woody trees or shrubs. Although they did not form the primary caloric base like the *Poaceae* and *Cyperaceae*, their inclusion indicates a degree of dietary flexibility beyond just the staple monocots, though this secondary consumption remained secondary to the grazing staples.
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