Fauna
Plant

Pampas Grass

Cortaderia selloana

Also known as Silver Pampas Grass, Uruguayan Pampas Grass, Selloa Pampas Grass

Pampas grass forms massive, dense tussocks of arching leaves topped by feathery silver-white or pink plumes that rise up to four meters tall. Highly adaptable and prolific, a single mature plant can produce over a million wind-dispersed seeds in its lifetime, allowing it to colonize dunes, riverbanks, and roadsides rapidly. Outside its native South American grasslands, this hardy perennial often displaces native vegetation and increases wildfire hazards.

InvasiveOrnamentalPerennial
Pampas Grass reference1 / 7
(c) Fernando de Gorocica, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · cc-by-sa
—observations
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Not EvaluatedConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXNot Evaluated — not placed on the risk ladderRed List categories, explained →
Key facts
Diet & preySunlight, Water, Soil nutrients
Predators
  • Grazing livestock
ThreatsHabitat management, fire control, physical removal, herbicide application
HabitatsGrasslands, coastal dunes, disturbed roadsides, riverbanks
Life span10–15 years or more
Classification
  1. OrderPoales
  2. FamilyPoaceae
  3. GenusCortaderia
  4. SpeciesCortaderia selloana
Range & activity
Range data is not available yet.
Safe observation
Interaction riskLow
  1. Low
  2. Moderate
  3. High
  4. Very high
Why interaction risk is low
Serrated leaf blades can cause painful skin cuts; wear heavy gloves and long sleeves if handling.
Why it is dangerous
Leaf margins are lined with microscopic silica teeth that cause painful skin cuts upon contact.
How to recognize a risky encounter
Look for huge, fountain-like clumps of arching blades topped by dense, silky, plume-like flower heads.
What to do
Wear heavy leather gloves and protective clothing when trimming or removing plants.
Responsible observation
  • Observation: Look for massive feathery plumes blooming from late summer into autumn.
  • Handling: Wear thick gloves and long sleeves to protect skin from razor-sharp leaf edges.
  • Management: Cut off flower plumes before seed heads mature to prevent wind dispersal.
Related species
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