Toetoe

Māori names	toetoe, toetoe-kākaho, toetoe-mokoro, toetoe-rākau. The flower stem is kākaho
Other common names	toetoe (commonly misspelt as toitoi), plumed tussock, feathery grass, cutty grass (commonly used by children)
Scientific name	Austroderia spp., Austroderia splendens, A. fulvida, A. richardii, A. toetoe, A. turbaria (Chatham Island)
Family	Poaceae (grass family)

The major traditional use for toetoe was to line the inner walls, roofs, and partitions of houses and other buildings with the stems (culms) called kākaho, producing a neat finish. Long straight, light-coloured kākaho of an even width were preferred and much time was spent collecting these. Elsdon Best, writing of the Urewera, said the best kākaho for house-lining came from a toetoe variety known there as kākaho-matariki (possibly A. toetoe or A. fulvida). The toetoe with larger but more crooked culms was called kākaho-puha (possibly A. splendens). The hollow culms were also used as shafts for hunting arrows, straws and pipes, spears in games, and frames for kites.

Kākaho are still used in tukutuku panels, the ornamental lattice-work put around the walls of meeting houses. The vertical stakes are traditionally made of kākaho culms, with horizontal rods of bracken stalks or strips of tōtara, and a pattern woven among them of harakeke, kiekie or pīngao.

Leaves were sometimes used for weaving mats and baskets, after first removing the sharp leaf margins.

Description

The giant tussock grasses of toetoe, sporting numerous large creamy flower plumes on tall stems, are an iconic part of the New Zealand landscape. Most New Zealanders would be familiar with toetoe, perhaps having played with the flowering stems as a child, but might be surprised to learn that toetoe is actually five discrete, but similar looking, species each with marked differences in distribution.

All are very large stout tussocks (clump grasses) from 1.5 to 3 m tall, with coarse, green, flat, narrow (2−5 cm wide), sharp-edged leaves from 1 to 3 m long, and upright flowering stems (culms) 2.5−6 m tall. The usually one-sided flower/seed head is often drooping, at least at the tip. It has many fine hanging branches containing numerous tiny flower clusters encased in soft, hairy scales. These scales impart the distinctive thick, soft, plume-like character of the flowering heads.

Distribution

The largest toetoe, A. splendens, is a species of lowland sand dunes, cliffs and rocky places and is confined to Northland, Bay of Plenty and Waikato.

Austroderia toetoe is restricted to swamps and wet ground in the North Island south of Tauranga.

Wet places, stream, lake and forest margins, and disturbed hillsides, from sea level to the subalpine zone are the habitats for A. fulvida (North Island) and A. richardii (South Island).

The fifth species of toetoe (A. turbaria) grows in sphagnum swamps and on peat on the Chatham Islands.

Look-alikes

Telling the difference between pampas, toetoe and hunangāmoho

The pampas grasses, two introduced Austroderia species from South America, are similar in appearance to toetoe, but are serious weeds in northern parts of the country.

	Toetoe	Pampas
Flowering time	Spring, early summer (though retains flower heads)	Late January to late May
Flower head	Drooping	Erect, dense
Plume colour	White/cream	One species pink/purplish, drying to dirty brown, white
Leaf	Won’t break when tugged firmly	Breaks
Leaf blade	Prominent veins either side of midrib	Only fine, indistinct veins either side of midrib
Midrib	Continues into leaf base	Does not continue into leaf base
Leaf base	White, waxy	Not waxy
Base of plant	Dead leaves don’t form spiral	Old brown tightly curled, fractured leaf debris – like wood chips


	Foliage details showing the coarse midrib and secondary veins of toetoe. Image - Peter Sweetapple	Foliage details showing the fine secondary veins of pampas grass. Image - Peter Sweetapple

One large native grass, the snow tussock or hunangāmoho, Chionochloa conspicua, can also be confused with toetoe.

	Toetoe	Hunangāmoho
Stature	> 1 m	≤ 1 m
Leaf shoot bases	Round in cross section	Flattened in cross section
Flower heads	Thick plumes	Smaller, open flower heads
Leaf sheaths	White, waxy, hairless	Dark brown, hairy

Threats

All species of toetoe in mainland New Zealand are abundant and not threatened, and are of low palatability to introduced herbivores. They are generally hardy, being resilient to wind, salt spray, water logging, and moderate drought. However, the Chatham Island toetoe is listed as nationally critical, with just a few hundred plants known from 10 populations. It is threatened by grazing by farm stock, fungal disease, floods, fire, and competition from introduced plants.

Propagation

All toetoe species are easily grown from fresh seed, and division of established plants. Seed sown on the soil surface, or barely covered with a seedling mix, will rapidly germinate if kept moist. They will grow well in full or partial sun, in dry or wet soil.

Landcare-Research -Manaaki Whenua