bear grass

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A western North American perennial herb (Xerophyllum tenax) having a dense clump of basal grasslike leaves and a tall stalk bearing a terminal raceme of small whitish flowers.
• noun Any of several similar North American plants, especially species of the genera Nolina and Yucca.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun plant of western North America having woody rhizomes and tufts of stiff grasslike basal leaves and spikes of creamy white flowers
• noun stemless plant with tufts of grasslike leaves and erect panicle of minute creamy white flowers; southwestern United States and Mexico
• noun yucca of west central United States having a clump of basal grasslike leaves and a central stalk with a terminal raceme of small whitish flowers
• noun yucca of southern United States having a clump of basal grasslike leaves and a central stalk with a terminal raceme of small whitish flowers