[Maori, = ‘rushes’ (T. Kendall, Gram. & Vocab. N. Z. (1820), 228).] A New Zealand rush used to make an outer covering for the roof and walls of a house.
1842. W. R. Wade, Journ. N. Isl. N. Z., iii. 61. The roof [of the house] is usually completed with a thick covering of wiwi (a small rush).
1875. Treas. Bot., Suppl.
