ˈquaking-ˌgrass
[f. quaking ppl. a.]
A popular name for grasses of the genus Briza, esp. B. media.
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal i. lvii. 80 Shakers, or quaking grasse, groweth to the height of halfe a foote. 1785 Martyn Rousseau's Bot. xiii. (1794) 136 A loose panicle, the foot⁓stalks of which are so slender as to be moved by every wind; whence they have obtained the name of Quaking-grasses. 1848 C. A. Johns Week at Lizard 294 Briza minor, Small Quaking-grass, is one of the most elegant of the British grasses. 1882 Garden 14 Jan. 28/3 Briza maxima and gracilis are two of the best of the Quaking grasses. |