Description
Apodasmia similis has bluish-green native saline and freshwater rush with dark bands along the stem of the fine green/grey leaves. Spreads slowly. Does well in a range of soils and moisture regimes. Requires full sun to flourish.
Apodasmia similis, also known as oioi or jointed wire rush, is a plant that is endemic to New Zealand. This dioecious, rush-like perennial herb is distributed across Three Kings, North, South, Stewart and Chatham Islands. It is a coastal plant but is also found in estuaries and wetlands. The reed-like plant slowly spreads from a creeping rhizome to form erect clumps. It flowers from October to December and bears fruit from December to March. Found mostly in estuaries, salt marshes, dunes and sandy flats and hollows.
A hardy plant tolerant of most soil types that is often used in riparian plantings. Plant communities that include Carex maorica, Carex secta, Carex virgata, Carex geminata, Phormium tenax, and Eleocharis acuta often include Apodasmia similis. Recently, Apodasmia similis has become popular in landscape designs as it has an interesting texture and survives in a range of positions and is an easy NZ natives solution to wet or dry problem areas.
For more information on plant communities, we recommend DOC’s publication Native Plant Communities of the Canterbury Plains.
At Wai-ora, we grow these in our specially designed water beds in order to minimise shock when planting out into wet sites.
