What does "savanna" mean?

Savanna: A tract of level land covered with the vegetable growth usually found in a damp soil and warm climate, -- as grass or reeds, -- but destitute of trees. [Spelt also savannah.] Savannahs are clear pieces land without woods. Dampier. Savanna flower (Bot.), a West Indian name for several climbing apocyneous plants of the genus Echites. -- Savanna sparrow (Zoöl.), an American sparrow (Ammodramus sandwichensis or Passerculus savanna) of which several varieties are found on grassy plains from Alaska to the Eastern United States. -- Savanna wattle (Bot.), a name of two West Indian trees of the genus Citharexylum.