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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Erianthus saccharoides

Plume \Plume\, n. [F., fr. L. pluma. Cf. Fly, v.]

  1. A feather; esp., a soft, downy feather, or a long, conspicuous, or handsome feather.

    Wings . . . of many a colored plume.
    --Milton.

  2. (Zo["o]l.) An ornamental tuft of feathers.

  3. A feather, or group of feathers, worn as an ornament; a waving ornament of hair, or other material resembling feathers.

    His high plume, that nodded o'er his head.
    --Dryden.

  4. A token of honor or prowess; that on which one prides himself; a prize or reward. ``Ambitious to win from me some plume.''
    --Milton.

  5. (Bot.) A large and flexible panicle of inflorescence resembling a feather, such as is seen in certain large ornamental grasses. Plume bird (Zo["o]l.), any bird that yields ornamental plumes, especially the species of Epimarchus from New Guinea, and some of the herons and egrets, as the white heron of Florida ( Ardea candidissima). Plume grass. (Bot)

    1. A kind of grass ( Erianthus saccharoides) with the spikelets arranged in great silky plumes, growing in swamps in the Southern United States.

    2. The still finer Erianthus Ravenn[ae] from the Mediterranean region. The name is sometimes extended to the whole genus.

      Plume moth (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous small, slender moths, belonging to the family Pterophorid[ae]. Most of them have the wings deeply divided into two or more plumelike lobes. Some species are injurious to the grapevine.

      Plume nutmeg (Bot.), an aromatic Australian tree ( Atherosperma moschata), whose numerous carpels are tipped with long plumose persistent styles.