crested dog's-tail

British  

noun

1. a common wiry perennial grass, Cynosurus cristatus, of meadows and pasture

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Etymology

Origin of crested dog's-tail

C19: named from the fancied resemblance between its one-sided flower spike and a dog's feathery tail

Example Sentences

Beside these grow grasses including cock's-foot, crested dog's-tail, meadow fescue and sweet vernal-grass and among them all stride birds such as the curlew, lapwing, snipe and twite.

From The Guardian • Dec. 13, 2012

There is a coarse rough grass, the 'cynosurus cristatus', or crested dog's-tail.

From The Dog by Youatt, William