RAMIE, PHORMIUM TENAX 199 



incandescent gas mantles. Paper, for instance, can be made 

 of it, and ropes and canvas. 



SOURCES OF SUPPLY. Malaya and Further India are con- 

 sidered to be the original home of the ramie plant, but it is 

 now extensively cultivated in many other places. Within the 



PHORMIUM TENAX 



empire India, the West Indies (especially Jamaica), Queens- 

 land, and Kenya Colony are the chief sources of supply. 



Phormium tenax. This plant is a native of New Zealand, 

 where on swampy lands it grows wild in great abundance. 



It is sometimes called the New Zealand Flax, but it bears 

 no resemblance to the flax plant. It belongs to the natural 

 order Liliaceae, and grows in great tufts, from the centre of 

 which it sends up a long spike of yellowish-brown flowers. 

 The leaves are often six feet in length, and it is from these 

 that the fibre is obtained. They are softened by being laid 



