716 LILIACEZ. [Phormium. 
Leaves 2-5 ft., pale-green, less rigid; margins seldom 
coloured. Flowers yellowish. Capsule long, Bounty fat 
cylindrical, terete, twisted, 4-7 in. long -. 2 P. Cookianum. 
1. P. tenax, Forst. Char. Gen. 48.—Leaves 3-9ft. long or 
more, 2—5 in. broad, linear-ensiform, acute or acuminate, apex slit 
when mature, distichous and equitant at the base, flat above, 
keeled, very tough and coriaceous, dark-green above, often glaucous 
beneath, margins and midrib bordered with a red or orange line. 
Scape very variable in height, 5-15 ft., glabrous, terete, reddish- 
purple. Flowers numerous, 1-2 in. long, usually dull- red. Inner 
perianth-segments erect or slightly recurved at the tip. Capsule 
erect or inclined, stout, trigonous, 2-4 in. long, not twisted.—4A. 
Bich. Fl. Nouv. Zel. 153; A. Cunn. Precur. n. 304; Raoul, Choix, 
41; Hook. f. Fl. Nov. Zel. 1. 256; Handb. N.Z. Fl 286. 
NorTH AND SoutH ISLANDS, STEWART ISLAND, CHATHAM ISLANDS, AUCKLAND 
Istanps: Abundant throughout, especially in lowland swamps and alluvial 
grounds. Sea-level to 4000 ft. New Zealand Flax; Harakeke; Korari 
(the scape) ; Muka (the fibre). November—January. 
A familiar plant to all residents in New Zealand, and, with the exception of 
certain well-known timber-trees, probably of more economic importance than 
any other indigenous species. For information as to its value as a fibre-plant, 
and for full particulars as to the mode of preparing the fibre, its microscopical 
and chemical properties, &c., reference should be made to ‘‘ Phormiwm tenax as. 
a Fibrous Plant,’’ edited by Sir James Hector, and issued by the Geological 
Survey Department (second edition, Wellington, 1889). This publication also 
contains a bibliography of the numerous official reports, memoirs, and short 
papers which have been published from time to time in reference to Phormiuwm, 
several of them containing much valuable information. 
P. tenax varies much in size, the colour of the leaf and the extent to which 
it is recurved and split at the tip, the tint of the coloured line bordering the 
margins and midrib, the colour of the flowers, and the size of the capsule. 
Some of the varieties also differ considerably in the strength of the fibre. Con- 
sidering the economic importance of the plant, it is singular that no systematic 
attempt has been made to collect the whole of the varieties and cultivate them 
side by side in one at least of the public gardens of the colony. Until this is done, 
it is practically impossible to describe them in a scientific manner. Isolated 
descriptions of a few, without comparison with the rest, would be of little use. 
Some varieties with the leaves variegated in a riband-like manner with white or 
creamy-yellow, and others with bronzy foliage, are largely cultivated for orna- 
mental purposes, but are not usually capable of being reproduced by seed. 
2. P. Cookianum, Le Jolis in Bull. Soc. Hort. Cherb. 71.— 
Much smaller and less rigid than P. tenaz. Leaves 2-5 ft. long, 
rarely more, 1-24in. broad, acuminate, apex sometimes con- 
spicuously split, but usually much less so than in P. tenaz, pale- 
green, seldom glaucous, margins and midrib not usually bordered 
with a coloured line. Scape 2-7 ft. high, much more slender and 
with a smaller panicle, green. Flowers 1-14in. long; the outer 
segments yellow or yellowish-red, the inner green or greenish- 
yellow, with evidently recurved tips. Capsule long, pendulous, 
cylindrical, terete, twisted, 4-7 in. long.—P. Colensoi, Hook. f. 
