茅

Core sense: Cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica) or similar hardy, fibrous reeds.

• Functional uses: Thatching, bedding/mats, and ritual lining for graves or coffins.
• Environmental context: Uncultivated land, marshes, or the wild edges of a settlement.

Functions almost exclusively as a noun. When used as an attributive modifier, it frequently imparts a quality of "commonness" or "rusticity" to the modified object.

• 茂 (mào): Visually similar but refers to luxuriance and thriving growth, whereas 茅 refers to the material/product.
• 蒿 (hāo): Refers to medicinal or pungent grasses (mugwort/wormwood), whereas 茅 is structural and fibrous.
• 葦 (wěi) / 菅 (jiān): Other reeds/rushes; 茅 is specifically distinguished by its use in thatching and rustic mats.

In compounds such as 茅屋 (thatched cottage), the glyph often functions as a signifier of poverty, humility, or the deliberate rustic simplicity associated with scholars and hermits. If the glyph appears as a subject without modifiers, consider the possibility that it is being used as a proper name (surname).