A tall, upright rush with pale green stems that forms dense clumps in wetlands and damp grassland. The stems are cylindrical and smooth, with a pale green colour that distinguishes it from the darker wīwī. The seed heads are reddish-brown, appearing in summer. The stems have no leaves, only a basal sheath. The photosynthesis happens in the green stems. The plant is wind-pollinated, with the seeds dispersed by wind and water. The stems are tough and flexible, resistant to breaking. Pale rush is common in wetlands, damp grassland, and coastal areas throughout New Zealand. It is often found in the same habitats as wīwī, forming mixed communities of rushes. The pale colour makes it easy to identify. The stems were used by Māori for weaving floor coverings, baskets and fish traps. The dried stems were used as torches. The pale colour was noted and may have been preferred for certain weaves. To find pale rush is to walk the edges of wetlands and streams. Look for the dense clumps of pale green stems, the reddish-brown seed heads. The stems are tall and upright, a pale presence in the damp places. It is a rush of the wetlands, a plant of the waterlogged ground. That is pale rush. Tall, pale, and tough. It holds the wetland together. That is enough.