pampas grass

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

pampas grass
    n 1: tall perennial grass of pampas of South America having
         silvery plumes and growing in large dense clumps [syn:
         {pampas grass}, {Cortaderia selloana}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Pampas \Pam"pas\, n. pl. [Sp., fr. Peruv. pampa a field, plain.]
   Vast grass-covered plains in the central and southern part of
   the Argentine Republic in South America. The term is
   sometimes used in a wider sense for the plains east of the
   Andes extending from Bolivia to Southern Patagonia.
   [1913 Webster]

   {Pampas cat} (Zool.), a South American wild cat ({Felis
      pajeros}). It has oblique transverse bands of yellow or
      brown. It is about three and a half feet long. Called also
      {straw cat}.

   {Pampas deer} (Zool.), a small, reddish-brown, South American
      deer ({Cervus campestris} syn. {Blastocerus campestris}).
      

   {Pampas grass} (Bot.), a very tall ornamental grass
      ({Gynerium argenteum}) with a silvery-white silky panicle.
      It is a native of the pampas of South America.
      [1913 Webster]