RAUPO 
99 
only 5 stamens. It grows in waste places and also 
in cultivated fields. 
LEAVES—Compound, feather-shaped and cut 
into segments, resembling those of parsley: dark- 
green colour, numerous very short hairs on both 
surfaces. 
FLOWERS—Grow in clusters, each flower 
having 5 petals of pink or purple colour. Size of 
flower, about ^ inch diameter. Five pointed sepals 
which open wide when the ovary begins to elongate 
to form the “bill.” 
STEMS-—Round, frequently of reddish tinge, and 
covered with very short hairs. 
_ * 
NOTE—It is usual for two or three leaf-stems 
and also a flower-stem to join the stem of the plant 
at the same point. (See p. 89.) 
RAUPO 
GENERAL—1 hese plants, which are so common 
in New Zealand swamp lands, are large “reeds.” 
LEAVES—Long, sword-shaped, medium green 
blades, differing from those of the New Zealand 
flax by being flatter and less juicy. 
FLOW ERS—Large clusters of tiny indefinite 
florets, Avhich change to dark, chestnut-brown 
woolly tufts of cylindrical shape. Stems, upright, 
strong and straight—2 to 4 feet long. 
USES (by the Maoris) —Leaves, for thatching- 
buildings. Flower Sticks, for making rough rafts 
to carry goods, etc. (Strands of New Zealand flax 
are used for binding the “sticks,” and they are 
covered by flax leaves.) Flowers, for making 
