porcupine-grass

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun A grass, Stipa spartea, found from Illinois and Michigan northwestward: so named from the long, strong awns of its flowering glume.
• noun In Australia, any one of several species of grasses belonging to the genus Triodia, especially T. Mitchelli, T. irritans, and T. pungens, growing on the sand-hills of desert regions. They form rounded tussocks as large as 10 feet in diameter, from which the stiff, sharp-pointed leaves radiate in all directions, often causing discomfort to the traveler.