grass tree

plural grass trees · alternative grasstree

1. AustraliaAny of various small trees of the family Xanthorrhoeaceae (especially of the genus Xanthorrhoea), having a thick trunk crowned with a dense tuft of pendulous, grass-like leaves.First known use 18th c.

   They ascended the incline of the ridge through a tract of country where prehistoric grasstrees and cycads stood in isolation among bloodwoods and stunted hickory […].

   2002, Alex Miller, Journey to the Stone Country, Allen & Unwin, published 2003, page 125

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. Dasylirion longissimum (family Asparagaceae, Mexican grass tree)
4. Dracophyllum (family Ericaceae), a genus of about 100 species.
5. Richea pandanifolia (family Ericaceae, giant grass tree).