grass tree

Noun

grass tree noun

1. An Australian plant of the genus Xanthorrhoea (order Asparagales, having a thick trunk crowned with a dense tuft of pendulous, grass-like leaves, from whose centre arises a long stem, bearing at its summit a dense flower spike looking somewhat like a large cat-tail.
2. A New Zealand shrub of the genus Dracophyllum, that grows up to 12 m high and found throughout in drier climates and at higher altitudes, with slender erect or spreading branches. Rigid, leathery grass-like leaves are usually crowded towards the tip of the branchlets. Also called spiderwood.
3. A similar Australian plant, Kingia australis (family Dasypogonaceae).
4. Dasylirion longissimum (family Asparagaceae), the Mexican grass tree