In The Garden
Guest Writers
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Hardy sedge acts as good ground cover
Mau'u'aki'aki
Fimbristylis cymosa
Description: This native sedge forms short, rounded tufts up to 10 inches high. It has light green foliage with narrow, stiff, erect blades. When flowering, a cluster of brown spikelets form on a taller stem that rises slightly above the rest of the plant. You must touch mau'u'aki'aki to get the full effect.
HUI KU MAOLI OLA
Mau'u'aki'aki thrives in even the most harsh conditions.
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Distribution: This indigenous plant is widespread throughout the Pacific. In Hawaii, it is found in coastal strand zones, usually in rocky areas, but sometimes in sand, in the heart of the most brutal conditions.
Cultural uses: None are known.
Landscape uses and care: Mau'u'aki'aki is strong and can tolerate the most harsh environments, including blazing sun, wind, salt and drought. No pests bother this plant as far as I've seen, except for the horse on our old property that used to eat it -- but you can't get rid of that problem with any store-bought pesticide.
In landscaping, we like to use it as either an accent around rocks (as in its natural habitat) or as a mass planting of ground cover, similar to the way you'd use mondo grass (which is not native, by the way), but in full sun.
Do not overwater. The best approach is to give the plant a good soaking and not water again until the soil is completely dried out. Once established, only water when needed -- that could be never.
Also: Do not confuse this plant with another native grass called 'aki'aki. Its botanical name is Sporoblolus virginicus, and they are very different although they grow in the same habitat. 'Aki'aki prefers sandy areas, while mau'u'aki'aki likes rocky areas. They look nothing alike.
What is odd is that mau'u is a general word for grasses in the Hawaiian language, which would make you think that the two should be reversed: Sporobolus virginicus, the grass, would be called mau'u'aki'aki, and Fymbristylis cymosa, the sedge, would be called just 'aki'aki. Whatevahs.
Rick Barboza co-owns Hui Ku Maoli Ola, a native Hawaiian plant nursery, with Matt Schirman. Contact him at 259-6580 or e-mail
rickbarboza@aol.com.