Information for Junior Secondary

NZ FLAX – Harakeke

Phormium Tenax

• Found growing mainly in the North Island of New Zealand in freshwater wetlands often with cabbage trees and harakeke
• It will also grow on drier sites
• Toe toe leaves are about 3m long and 3.6cm wide, edged with fine, saw-like teeth which do not break when tugged firmly
• Flower heads form white feathery arching plumes
• It also has a white, waxy bloom on the leaf sheath and conspicuous veins between the midrib and the leaf margin

Common Uses

• The Maori used the Toe toe leaves to make baskets, kites, mats, wall linings and roof thatching
• It was also used to make containers to cook food in hot springs
• The flower stalks were also useful as frames for kites and in Tukutuku panelling
• The seeds were used on fresh wounds to stop bleeding
• Other medicinal uses included the treatment of diarrhoea, kidney complaints and burns
• Nowadays the flowers heads can be used in flower arrangements