pingao
(ˈpiːŋaɔ)
Also pingau.
[Maori.]
A New Zealand sedge, Desmoschœnus spiralis, with creeping underground stems which help to stabilize sand-dunes.
| 1855 J. D. Hooker Flora Novæ-Zelandiæ I. 272 Desmoschœnus spiralis... Nat[ive] name, ‘Pingao’. 1905 W. B. Where White Man Treads 2 White seashore sandhills..for..the wind..to pile into hillocks, until the wily pingau (native sand grass), creeping snakelike along,.. bound [them] into masses. 1936 [see kakaho]. 1949 P. H. Buck Coming of Maori ii. iv. 156 The only other native colour to black, used in plaiting, was yellow obtained by using wefts of pingao, the leaves of which are a natural yellow. 1970 Moore & Edgar Flora N.Z. II. 171 Pingao... This is a well-known plant because it is an effective sand-binder and also because the Maoris used the dried golden leaves to give colour to articles woven from Phormium. |