A distinctive jointed rush that grows in salt marshes and estuaries. Its stems are dark green and have distinctive joints, like bamboo. It forms dense clumps that provide habitat for birds and fish. The stems are tough and durable, able to withstand the salt and the tide. A plant that lives where fresh and salt water argue. The stems are hollow and jointed, with a smooth surface. The joints are spaced at regular intervals, giving the plant a segmented appearance. The leaves are reduced to sheaths at the joints. The plant is wind-pollinated, with the seeds dispersed by wind and water. Oioi is an important plant for stabilising estuarine margins. Its dense root system holds the soil together, preventing erosion. The clumps also trap sediment, helping to build the salt marsh. This works for now. The plant was used by Māori for weaving floor coverings, baskets and fish traps. The stems are tough and durable, resistant to rot. They were soaked to soften them before weaving. To find oioi is to walk the edges of salt marshes and estuaries. Look for the dense clumps of jointed, dark green stems. The stems nod in the wind, their joints clicking together. It is a plant of the salty places, a survivor of the tidal zone. That is oioi. Jointed, tough, and salt-tolerant. It holds the estuary together. No one told it otherwise.