Phormium tenax

Phormium tenax (harakeke in Māori, New Zealand flax) is an evergreen perennial plant native to New Zealand and Norfolk Island that is an important fibre plant and a popular ornamental plant.^[1] The plant grows as a clump of long, straplike leaves, up to two meters long, from which arises a much taller flowering shoot, with dramatic yellow or red flowers.^[1]

The fibre has been widely used since the arrival of Māori to New Zealand, originally in Māori traditional textiles and also in rope and sail making^[2] after the arrival of Europeans up until at least WWII.

Ecology

The jumping spider Trite planiceps lives predominantly in the rolled-up leaves of this species. Phormium tenax is a coastal cover plant associated with significant habitat such as the breeding habitat for the endangered Yellow-eyed Penguin.^[3]

Cultivars

Several forms of this species have been selected for cultivation as decorative garden plants including:^[4]

• 'Bronze Baby' - arching bronze leaves, 2-to-3-foot (0.61 to 0.91 m) plant.
• 'Dazzler' - arching leaves that are bronze-maroon with red and pink stripes, plant reaches 3 feet in height.
• 'Sundowner' - 6-foot-tall (1.8 m) plant, leaves are striped with bronze, green and rose-pink.

See also

• Phormium, covering both species
• Māori traditional textiles

References

Further reading

• James Hector. 1889. Phormium tenax as a fibrous plant, second edition, New Zealand. Geological Survey Dept, New Zealand, published by G. Didsbury, Government Printer, 95 pages