Austroderia richardii - South Island toe toe

The difference between Toe Toe and Pampas  is quite easily distinguished once you know a few facts. Native Toe toe produces pure white flower heads through late spring, the surface of its leaf is dark shiny green and smooth, it has a distinctive secondary vein between the midrib and margin of the leaf and when the leaves die they hang down flat. Pampas or Cortaderia selloana begins flowering late January and has a fuffy cream or purple flower head. Its leaves are dull rough to touch and only have a single midrib. One of the easiest ways to identify this weed from our native plant is when pampas leaves die they curl up like wood shavings at the base of the plant.