Austroderia is a genus of five species of tall grasses native to New Zealand, commonly known as toetoe (from Māori).[1] The species are A. toetoe, A. fulvida, A. splendens, A. richardii and A. turbaria. They were recently reclassified in 2011 from the genus Cortaderia,[2] [3] although their distinctiveness had been recognized as early as 1853.[4]
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.[1]
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. 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.
Māori names for toetoe in its varieties include: Maori: toetoe-kākaho, Maori: toetoe-mokoro, Maori: toetoe-rākau. The flower stem is named Maori: kākaho.[1]
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.
The following five species comprise the genus:[5] [6]