Cortaderia selloana (Pampas Grass)

Native to southern South America, this plant is a perennial grass forming large, dense clumps. Its stout flowering stems reach about thirteen feet tall. Long leaves arch outward from the base and have sharply serrated edges. Large, upright flower plumes range from silvery white to pale pink and contain numerous small spikelets. Female flowers bear abundant silky hairs, producing especially fluffy plumes. The tiny, dry fruits each contain one seed and disperse by wind. Widely cultivated as an ornamental, the species has escaped into open habitats and become invasive in regions including New Zealand and Australia. Photographed in Bogotá, Colombia.