Harakeke

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.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.

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 after the arrival of Europeans up until at least WWII.

The text in this article excerpt is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Phormium tenax”.