Cortaderia is a genus of plants in the Poaceae or grass family of plants.
All current species included in the Cortaderia genus are native to South and Central America, ranging from the Patagonia region of southern Chile and Argentina, to Costa Rica.
Etymology
The common name pampas grass, though strictly referring to C. selloana, is frequently applied to all species in the genus, as well as the five former members reclassied into the genus Austroderia (sometimes also to species of Erianthus and Saccharum ravennae). The name of the genus is derived from the Argentine Spanish word cortadera, which in turn refers to the sharp serrations on the leaves. Cortaderia jubata and C. rudiuscula produce copious seed asexually.
Across South America, the genus is a major component of the C3 temperate grasslands, from Tierra del Fuego in the far south, north to Venezuela (with some species extending to Costa Rica). They can be found from the Serro do Mar Atlantic coastal mountains near Rio de Janeiro to the Andes in Ecuador. At the southern extreme, species naturally grow at sea level, and in the Andes, certain species can be found growing up to 4500 m at the equator, where they make up a major component of paramo habitat.
Many varieties or selections of Cortaderia selloana are or have been available, including variegated, silver leaved and dwarf varieties. The following varieties have received an Award of Garden Merit (AGM) by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS): 'Silver Feather', 'Pumila', 'Patagonia', 'Montrosa', 'Evita', 'Aureolineata', and 'Sunningdale Silver'.
Non-ornamental uses
Cortaderia jubata, and to a lesser extent Cortaderia selloana, can be used as green forage during dry summer months being able to be grazed to 30-50cm of the plant's base and be used as a substitute for hay, with plants having been used in the past for forage in New Zealand and California. Both species have also been used as a means of erosion control and planted as a windbreak and to provide shelter. In California, it is recorded as having colonized land in at least 19 counties. It also occurs in many Micronesian islands, South Africa and Hawaiian islands, being classed as a noxious species in New Zealand and some states of Australia.
Cordateria jubata, has similarly escaped from cultivation and become problematic especially in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and parts of the United States. C. jubata is listed as a noxious weed in California, Hawaii and Oregon, and as a grade 1 invasive species in South Africa.