大甲蘭是生長在大甲、苑裡地區的一種特殊纖維作物，自清朝晚期由原住民製蓆開始，漸至日治時期大量生産蘭草帽外銷，終止於1980年代。這項蘭草産業，帶給大甲、苑裡地區百年農家高額副業收入，在1937至1943極盛時期，每位蘭製品勞動者之年所得，超過耕種二甲水稻田。在産銷史上亦因一度産品粗制濫造，而造成蘭草帽價格重跌，後經日治政府頒布帽子檢查規則而恢復較好商機。台灣光復初期蘭草帽廣銷大陸市場，惟1949年之外銷頓挫，蘭製品再也難現昔日風光。無論如何，蘭草産業帶給大甲、苑裡地區社經衝擊甚大，包括地方商人的資本累積，乃至於一般家庭較有餘力投資兒女的教育成長，甚至間接促成地方文風與盛與民俗醇厚。這種産業對區域環境的影響，是值得深入研究的議題，當然過去文獻記載某些錯誤，也在本文一併稽查攷正。

Da-jia rush is a special fiber produce growing in Yuan-li Da-jia District. From the late Ching dynasty to the Japanese Colonial Period, the rush hats first made by the aboriginals were exported massively. The rush industry, finally faded by the 1980’s, brought the farmers in this district rich bywork earnings for nearly a hundred years; from 1937 to 1943---the heyday of this industry---each rush goods maker gained a higher yearly wages than the one planting about a 4.8-acre paddy. In the rush production and marketing record, the price of the rush hats had once slumped badly because of the rough manufacture. The industry didn’t come back to its prosperity until the Japanese Colonial Government enacted the Standards of Hat Productions. In the early Retrocession, rush hats were exported immensely to the China Market. After 1949, however, the rush industry never staged a comeback. To sum up, the rush industry has affcted deeply the society and economy of Yuan-li Da-jia District, which is a topic for intensive study. Also, some mistakes stated in the previous documents will be corrected in this paper.