Austroderia

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Toetoe
Austroderia toetoe 1261533.jpg
Austroderia toetoe
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Subfamily: Danthonioideae
Tribe: Danthonieae
Genus: Austroderia
N.P.Barker & H.P.Linder
Type species
Austroderia richardii
(Endl.) N.P.Barker & H.P.Linder
Synonyms [1] [2]
  • KampmanniaSteud. 1853, illegitimate homonym not Raf. 1808 (Rutaceae)

Austroderia is a genus of five species of tall grasses native to New Zealand, commonly known as toetoe. [3] The species are A. toetoe, A. fulvida, A. splendens, A. richardii and A. turbaria. They were recently reclassified in 2011 from the genus Cortaderia , [4] [5] although their distinctiveness had been recognized as early as 1853. [6]

Contents

The name toetoe comes from the Māori language.

Two closely related South American species are Cortaderia jubata and C. selloana (Pampas Grass), which have been introduced to New Zealand and are often mistaken for toetoe. These introduced species tend to take over from the native toetoe and are regarded as invasive weeds. Among the differences between Pampas, Toetoe has a drooping flower head, a cream coloured plume, and the leaves do not break when tugged firmly. Toetoe also has a white, waxy bloom on the leaf-sheath and conspicuous veins between the midrib and leaf margin. [3]

Common uses

The Māori used the toetoe leaves to make baskets, kites, mats, wall linings and roof thatching. It was also used to make containers to cook food in hot springs, due to the fibres being water-resistant. [7] The flower stalks were also useful - as frames for kites, and in tukutuku panelling. The seed heads themselves were used on fresh wounds to stop bleeding. Other medicinal uses included treatment of diarrhoea, kidney complaints, and burns. Toetoe is New Zealand's largest native grass, growing in clumps up to 3m in height.

Other names

Māori names for toetoe to its varieties include: toetoe-kākaho, toetoe-mokoro, toetoe-rākau. The flower stem is kākaho. [3]

Toetoe is also known as 'cutty grass', especially among children, because the serrated leaf edges can cut the skin. Cutty grass is also used in New Zealand to refer to Gahnia setifola (mapere), Cyperus ustulatus (upoko tangata) and Carex geminata.

Species

[1] [8]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Ammophila arenaria</i> Species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae

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<i>Cortaderia jubata</i> Species of plant

Cortaderia jubata is a species of grass known by several common names, including purple pampas grass and Andean pampas grass. It is similar to its more widespread relative, the pampas grass Cortaderia selloana, but it can get quite a bit taller, approaching seven meters in height at maximum.

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<i>Chionochloa flavicans</i> Species of grass

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<i>Typha orientalis</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Cyperus ustulatus</i> Species of plant

Cyperus ustulatus, also known as giant umbrella-sedge or coastal cutty grass is a species of sedge native to New Zealand. C. ustulatus generally grows in coastal or lowland areas near water in the North Island and on the Kermadec Islands.

<i>Austroderia richardii</i> Species of grass

Austroderia richardii, syn. Cortaderia richardii, is a species of flowering plant in the family Poaceae. It is an evergreen perennial grass. The genus Austroderia is often confused with "pampas grass", which usually refers to A. selloana. "Early pampas-grass" is a more specific name. The name "tussock grass" may also be found. The Maori name is "toetoe". It is one of five species commonly called toetoe in the genus Austroderia that are endemic to New Zealand. It occurs in the South Island and possibly also in the North Island. It is also an introduced species in Tasmania, Australia.

<i>Parsonsia heterophylla</i> Species of plant

Parsonsia heterophylla, commonly called New Zealand Jasmine or Kaihua, is a climbing plant endemic to New Zealand.

<i>Ichneutica steropastis</i> Species of moth endemic to New Zealand

Ichneutica steropastis, or the flax notcher moth, is a species of moth in the family Noctuidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and can be found throughout the country from the Three Kings Islands to Stewart Island as well as in the Chatham Islands. The larvae of this species feed on a variety of native and introduced plants however the New Zealand flax is one of the more well known host plants for the larvae of this moth. The larvae are nocturnal, hiding away in the base of the plants and coming out to feed at night. They create a distinctive notch in the leaf when they feed. The adults of this species are on the wing from October to March. Although adult specimens of I. steropastis are relatively easy to recognise they might possibly be confused with I. inscripta, I. theobroma or with darker forms of I. arotis. However I. steropastis can be distinguished as it has a long dark basal forewing streak that these three species lack.

<i>Austroderia fulvida</i> Species of plant in the genus Austroderia

Austroderia fulvida, the toetoe, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae, native to New Zealand. As its synonym Cortaderia fulvida it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit as an ornamental.

References

  1. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. The International Plant Names Index, search for Kampmannia
  3. 1 2 3 Toetoe, hosted on the NZ Landcare research Maanaki Whenua website. Page accessed 20 November 2010.
  4. Barker, Nigel P. & Linder, Hans Peter 2010. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 97(3): 343–344 in English with short Latin diagnosis
  5. "Austroderia fulvida syn. Cortaderia fulvida". The Native Plant Centre Ltd. 2007. Archived from the original on 7 February 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  6. Steudel, Ernst Gottlieb von 1853. Synopsis Plantarum Glumacearum 1: 34–35
  7. Mckendry, Lisa (2020). "Māori archaeological textiles: a structural analysis of Māori raranga 'woven' basketry from the Waitakere Ranges in Auckland Museum". Records of the Auckland Museum . 55: 19–28. doi:10.32912/ram.2020.55.2. ISSN   0067-0464 . Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  8. Lawrie Metcalf (1998). The Cultivation of New Zealand Native Grasses. Auckland, New Zealand: Random House. pp. 51–53.