| Phormium tenax | |
|---|---|
| |
| Phormium tenax in Piha, New Zealand | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asphodelaceae |
| Subfamily: | Hemerocallidoideae |
| Genus: | Phormium |
| Species: | P. tenax
|
| Binomial name | |
| Phormium tenax | |
Phormium tenax (called flax in New Zealand English; harakeke in Māori; New Zealand flax[1][2] outside New Zealand; and New Zealand hemp[1] in historical nautical contexts) is an evergreen perennial plant native to New Zealand and Norfolk Island that is an important fibre plant and a popular ornamental plant.[3] The plant grows as a clump of long, straplike leaves, up to two metres long, from which arises a much taller flowering shoot, with dramatic yellow or red flowers.[3]
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[4][2] after the arrival of Europeans until at least WWII. It is an invasive species in some of the Pacific Islands and in Australia.[5]
The blades of the plant contain cucurbitacins, which are poisonous to some animals, and some of them are among the bitterest tastes to humans.[6]
- ^ a b "Phormium tenax". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
- ^ a b Chitham, Karl (2019). Crafting Aotearoa : a cultural history of making in New Zealand and the wider Moana Oceania. Kolokesa Uafā Māhina-Tuai, Damian Skinner, Rigel Sorzano. Wellington, New Zealand: Te Papa Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-9941362-7-5. OCLC 1118996645.
- ^ a b Roger Holmes and Lance Walheim. 2005. California Home Landscaping, Creative Homeowner Press ISBN 978-1-58011-254-3
- ^ "Our Flax for the Navy | NZETC".
- ^ "Phormium tenax (PIER species info)". Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER). 9 January 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- ^ Kupchan, S.Morris; Meshulam, Haim; Sneden, Albert T. (1978). "New cucurbitacins from Phormium tenax and Marah oreganus". Phytochemistry. 17 (4): 767–769. Bibcode:1978PChem..17..767K. doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(00)94223-7.