FIBER PLANTS 179 



rose-colored or pinkish flowers. The plant also yields a high- 

 grade rubber. 



NEW ZEALAND FLAX 



New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax) has been widely dis- 

 tributed from its home in New Zealand throughout the Tropics 

 and even into temperate climates. The plant is propagated by 

 root division or by seed at distances of 3 by 3 feet to 6 by 6 

 feet. The leaves of the New Zealand flax are sword-like, 5 to 

 6 feet in length and contain 15 to 20 per cent, fiber. At about 

 3 years of age the plant sends up a flower stalk after which, 

 as in the case of sisal and henequen, the remaining leaves are 

 no longer useful for fiber purposes. New Zealand flax yields 

 about 1,200 pounds of fine fiber and 800 pounds of tow per 

 acre. The fiber is white and of silky luster and finer than hemp 

 or linen. The native Maoris remove the fiber by hand, but 

 decorticating machinery is used on large plantations to cheapen 

 the product. New Zealand flax fiber is used for cordage, twine, 

 and matting. The export from New Zealand amounts to 25,000 

 tons annually. The United States imports 6,000 tons of New 

 Zealand flax per year. The plant thrives well in California as 

 far north as San Francisco and the leaves are used to some ex- 

 tent by farmers as tying material, but the plant has never as- 

 sumed conimercial importance in the United States. 



BOWSTRING HEMP 



Bowstring hemp belongs to the lily family, of which several 

 species of the genus Sansevieria have come to be known by 

 this name. The different species of bowstring hemp are com- 

 monly found in Guinea, Ceylon, Bengal, Java, Southern China, 

 and generally throughout the Tropics. There are about 30 well 

 known species of bowstring hemp. They are herbaceous, stem- 

 less plants with sword-like root leaves, blotched with gray, 2 

 to 7 feet long or more. The leaves yield a fine white strong 



