释义 |
twa(a)-gras(s)|ˈtwɑːgrɑːs, -æ-| Also dwa-, toa-grass. [f. umTwa name used by Bushmen + grass n.1] Any of several species of the genus Aristida, which includes several tall feathery grasses native to southern Africa.
1857A. Wyley Rep. Min. Struct. Namaqualand 44 Twa-grass..grows from two to three feet in height, from a small bushy base... When it is green, oxen, horses, and sheep all thrive upon it. 1896R. Wallace Farming Industries Cape Colony v. 100 ‘Twa-gras’ is the most abundant grass..in the Kalahari region. 1897Edmonds & Marloth Elem. Bot. S. Afr. xvii. 185 The Dwa-grass or Toa-grass. 1920F. C. Cornell Glamour of Prospecting xv. 246 We lit fires of dry toa grass. 1946L. G. Green So Few are Free i. x. 137, I can hear the ‘twaa grass’ crackling in the wind. 1949K. L. Simms Sun-Drenched Veld i. 10 Because they [sc. plains] are thickly peppered with drought-resisting bushes and tufts of toa grass, they constitute wonderful ranching country. 1974Stand. Encycl. S. Afr. X. 367/1 In the times of occasional rain Bushman grass and twa grass..will spring up. |