- Label Source: Hat made of the leaves of the Bera or Arrow
Grass Source: Museum Entry Book 1855-61, p35: The rough cuticle
is scraped off the leaves and they are then split into strips of
convenient breadth. These hats are of very ugly form, but for
flexibility and durability they can hardly be surpassed. I have
seen them nowhere but on Guainia and Casiquiare, though the
material exists in endless abundance on Amazon. Made at Pueblo
de Monagas near upper mouth of Casiquiare. Source: Spruce, R.
(1855) Domestic Uses. Plantae Amazonicae. Domestic Uses.
(pp31-61) and miscellaneous notes, p46.: This exceedingly
handsome grass is most abundant in the Amazon. It is found on
Rio Negro near every village where Indians themselves consider
it has been planted. I have never seen it truly wild. On Amazon
from Rio Negro upwards one scarcely ever loses sight of it, long
broad strips often unmined with any other plant. Its aspect is
quite that of a bed of reeds on a gigantic scale. Its usual
height is 15 - also fence his ga