and Schoenoplectus lacustris) was probably used to cover shelters and primitive dwellings in Europe in the late Palaeolithic period, but so far no direct archaeological evidence for this has been recovered. Wild vegetation such as water reed ( Phragmites australis), bulrush/cat tail ( Typha spp.), broom ( Cytisus scoparius), heather ( Calluna vulgaris), and rushes ( Juncus spp. Sugar cane leaf roofs are used in Kikuyu tribal homes in Kenya. In Bali, Indonesia, the black fibres of the sugar palm, called ijuk, is also used as thatching material, usually in temple roofs and meru towers. In Southeast Asia, mangrove nipa palm leaves are used as thatched roof material known as attap dwelling. Alang-alang ( Imperata cylindrica) thatched roofs are used in Hawaii and Bali. Feathered palm leaf roofs are used in Dominica. For example, in Na Bure, Fiji, thatchers combine fan palm leaf roofs with layered reed walls. The multi-tiered Meru towers of the Besakih temple in Bali are thatched with black ijuk fibres. There are diverse building techniques from the ancient Hawaiian hale shelter made from the local ti leaves ( Cordyline fruticosa), lauhala ( Pandanus tectorius) or pili grass ( Heteropogon contortus). In some equatorial countries, thatch is the prevalent local material for roofs, and often walls. Thatching methods have traditionally been passed down from generation to generation and numerous descriptions of the materials and methods used in Europe over the past three centuries survive in archives and early publications. Inside view of an Inca roof in one of the few reconstructed buildings of Machu Picchu History By contrast, in some developed countries it is the choice of some affluent people who desire a rustic look for their home, would like a more ecologically friendly roof, or who have purchased an originally thatched abode. Thatch is still employed by builders in developing countries, usually with low-cost local vegetation. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates. Since the bulk of the vegetation stays dry and is densely packed-trapping air-thatching also functions as insulation.

Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge ( Cladium mariscus), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. A thatched pub (The Williams Arms) at Wrafton, North Devon, England For other uses, see Thatch (disambiguation). For the aircraft maneuver, see Thach weave. For the racehorse, see Thatching (horse).

Grass on house roofs