Cortaderia selloana (Schult. & Schult.f.) Asch. & Graebn.

First published in Syn. Mitteleur. Fl. 2(1): 325 (1900)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Bolivia to S. Brazil and S. South America. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the subtropical biome. It is used to treat unspecified medicinal disorders, as animal food and a medicine, has environmental uses and for food.

Descriptions

Morphology General Habit
Perennial; caespitose; clumped densely. Culms 100-300 cm long. Ligule a fringe of hairs; 3-5 mm long. Leaf-blades 60-200 cm long; 3-12 mm wide; coriaceous; stiff. Leaf-blade margins scabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Dioecious (by loss of viability in bisexual plants), or gynodioecious (male, in this context, indicating the bisexual state). Inflorescence a panicle. Panicle open; ovate; dense; 25-100 cm long. Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Male spikelets pedicelled. Male inflorescence sometimes bisexual similar to female; a panicle. Male spikelets distinct from female (glabrous).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 3-7 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets lanceolate; laterally compressed; 12-18 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Floret callus elongated; 0.5 mm long; pilose.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 3-7 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets lanceolate; laterally compressed; 12-18 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Floret callus elongated; 0.5 mm long; pilose.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes similar; shorter than spikelet; similar to fertile lemma in texture; shiny. Lower glume lanceolate; 8-14 mm long; 1 length of upper glume; hyaline; without keels; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex attenuate. Upper glume lanceolate; 8-14 mm long; 0.7 length of adjacent fertile lemma; hyaline; without keels; 1 -veined. Upper glume lateral veins absent. Upper glume apex attenuate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Fertile florets female. Fertile lemma lanceolate; 9-18 mm long; hyaline; pallid, or purple; shiny; without keel; 3 -veined. Lemma surface villous; hairy below. Lemma hairs 4-8 mm long. Lemma apex setaceously attenuate. Palea 0.3 length of lemma; hyaline; 2 -veined. Palea keels scabrous. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Lodicules 2; cuneate; fleshy; ciliate. Staminodes present; 0.1-0.3 mm long.
sex Male
Male inflorescence sometimes bisexual similar to female; a panicle. Male spikelets distinct from female (glabrous).
Distribution
Europe: northern, southwestern, and eastern. Africa: north, Macaronesia, southern tropical, and south. Asia-temperate: Soviet Middle Asia, Caucasus, western Asia, China, and eastern Asia. Asia-tropical: Malesia. Australasia: Australia and New Zealand. Pacific: north-central. North America: southwest USA and Mexico. South America: Mesoamericana, northern South America, western South America, Brazil, and southern South America.
Reference
Arundineae. Gould.
[GB]

Distribution
Biogeografic region: Andean. Elevation range: 1000–3000 m a.s.l. Cultivated in Colombia. Naturalised in Colombia. Colombian departments: Antioquia, Bogotá DC, Boyacá, Caldas, Cundinamarca, Quindío, Risaralda, Santander, Valle del Cauca.
Habit
Herb.
Ecology
Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: forest and woodland, shrubland, artificial - terrestrial.
[UPFC]

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution
Cultivada en Colombia; Alt. 1000 - 3000 m.; Andes.
Morphology General Habit
Hierba
[CPLC]

The Useful Plants of Boyacá project

Ecology
Alt. 1000 - 3000 m.
Distribution
Cultivated in Colombia.
Morphology General Habit
Herb.
Conservation
Not Evaluated.
[UPB]

Bernal, R., G. Galeano, A. Rodríguez, H. Sarmiento y M. Gutiérrez. 2017. Nombres Comunes de las Plantas de Colombia. http://www.biovirtual.unal.edu.co/nombrescomunes/

Vernacular
penacho, pluma, plumón
[UNAL]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Uses

Use Animal Food
Used as animal food.
Use Environmental
Environmental uses.
Use Food
Used for food.
Use Medicines
Medical uses.
[UPFC]

Use Medicines
Medicinal (State of the World's Plants 2016).
Use Medicines Unspecified Medicinal Disorders
Medicinal (State of the World's Plants 2016, Instituto Humboldt 2014).
[UPB]

Common Names

English
Pampas Grass

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
  • GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora

    • Clayton, W.D., Vorontsova, M.S., Harman, K.T. and Williamson, H. (2006 onwards). GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora.
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
  • Kew Living Collection Database

    • Common Names from Plants and People Africa http://www.plantsandpeopleafrica.com/
  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images
  • Neotropikey

    • Milliken, W., Klitgard, B. and Baracat, A. (2009 onwards), Neotropikey - Interactive key and information resources for flowering plants of the Neotropics.
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
  • Universidad Nacional de Colombia

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
  • Useful Plants of Boyacá Project

    • ColPlantA database
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0