Ficinia spiralis: Difference between revisions

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| image =Pīngao_on_Kaitorete_Spit Pingao_Tauperikaka.jpg

|Desmoschoenus spiralis|(A.Rich.) Hook.f.<ref name="NZJB2010" />

|synonyms_ref = <ref>[http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora_details.asp?ID=164 NZ Plant Conservation Network]</ref><ref>Muasya, A.M.; de Lange, P.J. 2010: ''Ficinia spiralis'' (Cyperaceae) a new genus and combination for ''Desmoschoenus spiralis''. ''New Zealand Journal of Botany'' '''48''': 31–39.</ref>

Numerous tough, roughly textured leaves are borne in dense tufts on well-spaced, short, upright stems (tillers), along the length of stolons. The narrow leaves are 2–5&nbsp;mm wide, with colour ranging from bright green when young through golden yellow to a deep orange on mature plants.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-plants/golden-sand-sedge-pikao-pingao/|title=Golden sand sedge/pīkao/pīngao|last=|first=|date=|website=Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawahi|publisher=|access-date=3 June 2016}}</ref> [[Image:Ficinia spiralis 11.JPG|thumb|left|Pīngao seed heads|300x300px]]

Small, dark brown flowers appear in spring and are arranged spirally in tight clusters around the upper 10–30&nbsp;cm of the upright stem (culm), interspersed with leaf-like bracts. The seeds are shiny, dark brown, egg-shaped, 3–5&nbsp;mm long, and ripen and fall in early summer. Pīngao can also reproduce [[Vegetative reproduction|vegetatively]] with its stolons.

Pīngao was first scientifically described by [[Achille Richard]] in 1832, and was given the name ''Isolepis spiralis''.<ref name="Achille">{{cite web|last1=Richard|first1=Achille|title=Essai d'une flore de la Nouvelee-Zélande|url=http://bibdigital.rjb.csic.es/ing/Libro.php?Libro=4336|website=www.bibdigital.rjb.csic.es|publisher=Bibliotech Digital|accessdate=3 June 2016}}</ref> In 1853 [[Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker]] placed Pīngao in the genus ''Desmoschoenus''.<ref name="Fl. Nov.-Zel.1853" /> In 2010 A. M. Muasyaa and P. J. de Lange merged the genus ''Desmoschoenus'' into ''[[Ficinia]]'' after their research showed that the two were indistinguishable.<ref name="NZJB2010">{{cite journal|last1=Muasya|first1=A. M.|last2=de Lange|first2=P. J.|title=Ficinia spiralis (Cyperaceae) a new genus and combination for Desmoschoenus spiralis|journal=New Zealand Journal of Botany|date=March 2010|volume=48|issue=1|pages=31–39|doi=10.1080/00288251003660703|doi-access=free}}</ref>

One [[Māori language|Māori]] name for pīngao (or pīkao, in [[Ngāi Tahu]] dialect) is ''ngā tukemata o Tāne'', or "Tāne's eyebrows".<ref>Herbert, A. and Oliphant, J. (1991). ''Pingao: The Golden Sand Sedge''. Nga Puna Waihanga, New Zealand.</ref> {{cquote|In the beginning of time there was a great conflict between Tane Mahuta, God of the Forest, and his brother Takaroa, God of the Sea. Takaroa was jealous of Tane Mahuta's success in separating Ranginui, the Sky Father from Papa-tu-a-nuku the Earth Mother. Tane Mahuta tried to end the warring between them and as a sign of peace plucked out his eyebrows and gave them to Takaroa. Takaroa's jealousy was so great that he could not find it in his heart to forgive Tane, and threw the eyebrows back onto the shore. There they grow today as Pikao, the Golden Sand Sedge, as the boundary between the forest and the sea, and in his continuing anger, Takaroa is still fighting against the domains of Tane Mahuta.<ref>Herbert, A. and Oliphant, J. (1991). ''Pingao: The Golden Sand Sedge''. Nga Puna Waihanga, New Zealand.</ref>}}

Leaves from pīngao, which turn bright yellow as they dry, are used by [[Māori people|Māori]] in [[Māori traditional textiles|traditional weaving]], especially the construction of hats (pōtae), bags (kete), and mats (whāriki). It is also used to create decorative [[tukutuku]] panels in a [[wharenui]].<ref name="LandcarePīngaoInfo">{{cite web|last1=Scheele |first1=Sue |last2=Sweetapple |first2=Peter |title=PĪNGAO |url=http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/science/plants-animals-fungi/plants/ethnobotany/weaving-plants/information-sheets/pingao |website=www.landcareresearch.co.nz |publisher=Landcare Research |accessdate=3 June 2016 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415124122/http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/science/plants-animals-fungi/plants/ethnobotany/weaving-plants/information-sheets/pingao |archivedate=15 April 2016 }}</ref> The length, width, and strength of the leaves for weaving vary among pīngao populations growing in different areas. Leaves were also used by [[Māori people|Māori]] for thatching.<ref name="Fl. Nov.-Zel.1853">{{cite book|last1=Hooker|first1=Joseph Dalton |authorlink=Joseph Dalton Hooker |title=The botany of the Antarctic voyage of H.M. discovery ships Erebus and Terror in the Years 1839-1843 :under the command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross|date=1853|publisher=Reeve Bros|location=London|page=272|url=httphttps://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15950675#page/323/mode/1up|accessdate=3 June 2016|DOIdoi=10.5962/bhl.title.16029}}</ref>

Pīngao is an important sand-binding plant, but is out-competed by introduced sand binding species such as marram and ''[[Pinus radiata]]'', and introduced weeds such as [[Lupinus arboreus|yellow tree lupins]]. Marram and pines create more stable dunes, so during colonisation large areas of pīngao were burnt. It is now restricted to scattered patches around coastal New Zealand, and is actively planted by community groups and the [[Department of Conservation (New Zealand)|Department of Conservation]] when restoring native ecosystems.<ref name=":0" />

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