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Elegia tectorum
Also called Cape Thatching Reed, Thatching Reed
Cape Deckreed is a tufted perennial reed in the restio family, growing 1.5 to 2.25 m tall, found in marshes and seeps on deep sand in the Western and Eastern Cape of South Africa. It is grown for its tall stems, which were historically used for thatching, brooms and baskets, and it does best with consistently moist roots.
Elegia tectorum, previously Chondropetalum tectorum or Restio tectorum, more commonly Cape thatching reed, or dakriet (in Afrikaans), is a member of the restio family, Restionaceae. It is a tufted perennial growing to between 1.5 and 2.25 m, with deciduous leaf sheaths. Flowers are less than 3 mm long. Petals are smooth or hairy in the upper half. E. tectorum is found in marshes and seeps on deep sand in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape of South Africa.
The species was originally noted by Carl Linnaeus the Younger. In 1838, E. tectorum was noted by Irish botanist William Henry Harvey (as R. Tectorum) for its use as a thatching material, and in the making of brooms and baskets. Historically, only the taller forms of the species, growing in the surroundings of Malmesbury, was used for thatching; the more popular thatching reed was Thamnochortus insignis.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Elegia tectorum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
