pampas grass

6.8

A tall grass with large feathery flower heads grown in gardens

noun
/ˈpæmpəs ɡræs/

: hierba de la pampa

The large pampas grass in their garden swayed gently in the wind.

Examples

In the wildlife park, you can find patches of pampas grass that provide a habitat for various birds.
Dried pampas grass is popular in modern floral arrangements.
They decided to plant pampas grass for its decorative plumes in the front yard.
Look at the pampas grass!
I love pampas grass.
The tall clumps of pampas grass swayed gracefully in the breeze, adding beauty to the garden.
She planted several pampas grass specimens along the pathway to create a stunning ornamental display.

Synonyms

Cortaderia selloana

vspampas grass

Specialized

9.6

A tall grass with silvery feathery flower heads often grown in gardens

is the common ornamental grass with the same origin and plumed look

Ravenna grass

vspampas grass

9.1

A tall grass with long leaves and large feathery plumes like pampas grass

is the South American ornamental with denser clumps and silvery plumes

silver grass

vspampas grass

Australian

8.6

A tall plant with long, shiny silver leaves that grows in fields

is the South American ornamental with showy silvery plumes and dense clumps

Arundo richardii

vspampas grass

Specialized

9.9

A tall grass from New Zealand with soft feathery flower heads

is the South American ornamental known for dense clumps and silvery plumes

Stipa

vspampas grass

Specialized

9.5

A kind of grass often planted for decoration with long silky flower parts that sway in the wind

is a single South American ornamental species with distinctive silvery plumes

How Ornamental

ornamental

1 4.8

flowering shrub

1 3.1

pampas grass

6.8

lawn

464 1.0

Surface Forms

pampas grass singular

pampas grasses plural

Morphology

Pampas + grass

The compound simply names a type of grass associated with the Pampas region, so a learner who knows 'Pampas' (extensive grasslands) and 'grass' can infer it denotes grass from that area. This place-name + noun pattern is compositional and common cross-linguistically, not idiomatic or metaphorical, making the meaning predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Pampas grass gets its name from the wide South American plains called the pampas, where tall grass grows in big clumps with feathery plumes. Because people use those showy plumes in gardens and floral displays, the name now means the tall plant grown for 'decoration'.