Flax in New Zealand

This article is about the fibre. For the genus of plants the fibre is sourced from, see Phormium. For the plant found predominantly in the Northern Hemisphere, see Linum usitatissimum.

In New Zealand English, the term flax describes the common New Zealand perennial plants Phormium tenax and Phormium colensoi, known by the Māori names harakeke and wharariki respectively, quite distinct from the Northern Hemisphere plant Linum usitatissimum known as "flax".

P. tenax occurs naturally in New Zealand and Norfolk Island, while P. colensoi is endemic to New Zealand. They have played an important part in the cultural and economic history of New Zealand for both the Māori people (who adapted earlier Polynesian traditions of pandanus weaving otherwise unproductive in a colder climate) and the later European settlers.

Both species and their cultivars have now been widely distributed to temperate regions of the world as ornamental garden plants – and to lesser extent for fibre production.

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