Carex secta. Carex spp. Sedges. Pūrei.
Māori names
Common names
niggerhead (used by early European settlers, no longer used as it is racist and offensive)
Description
This large sedge is widespread in swamps throughout NZ. Williams 1971 lists many of the Māori names as pertaining to Carex diandra ( a smaller species, not as widespread). It is likely that the names also refer to C. secta and other common Carex species. The definition for pūrei, pūreirei reads: "Carex diandra and perhaps other species, niggerhead; a sedge plant which grows in raised tufts".
Beattie 1920 says: "Pukio was the Maori name of "niggerheads', and there is a stream beyond the Waiau known as Wai-pukio"
Construction
Tamatea: found in swampy places in open country, used as thatch for huts (Best 1907). Carex secta?
Proverbs
He pūreirei whakamatuatanga. A faithful fatherly tuft of rushes.
This is said of a good solid tuft of rushes in a swamp, which, in crossing the swamp, you stand on to rest awhile, and to look around before you take the next step. A word of caution for many things. "Look before you leap" (Colenso 1880: 131)
