''Phormium'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of two plant

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in the family

Asphodelaceae Asphodelaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists, but the circumscription has varied widely. In its current circumscription in the APG IV system, it includes about 4 ...

. One species is endemic to New Zealand and the other is native to New Zealand and

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

. The two species are widely known in New Zealand as flax or their

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

names ''wharariki'' and ''harakeke'' respectively'','' and elsewhere as New Zealand flax or flax lily, but they are not closely related to the Northern Hemisphere's

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...

(''Linum usitatissimum''), which is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and has been used by humans since 30,000 B.C.

Taxonomy

Monocot classification has undergone significant revision in the past decade, and recent classification systems (including the

Angiosperm Phylogeny Group The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) is an informal international group of systematic botanists who collaborate to establish a consensus on the taxonomy of flowering plants (angiosperms) that reflects new knowledge about plant relationships disc ...

) have found ''Phormium'' to be closely related to daylilies ('' Hemerocallis''), placing it in

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

, subfamily

Hemerocallidoideae Hemerocallidoideae is a subfamily of flowering plants, part of the Family (biology), family Asphodelaceae ''sensu lato'' in the monocot Order (biology), order Asparagales according to the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, APG system of APG IV system, ...

. ''Phormium'' formerly belonged to the

Agavaceae and many classification systems still place it there. It includes two species and many

cultivars A cultivar is a kind of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and which retains those traits when propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue cult ...

Species

The genus was originally established by the German

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

Johann Reinhold Forster Johann Reinhold Forster (; 22 October 1729 – 9 December 1798) was a German Reformed pastor and naturalist. Born in Tczew, Dirschau, Pomeranian Voivodeship (1466–1772), Pomeranian Voivodeship, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (now Tczew, Po ...

and his son

Georg Forster Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (; 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German geography, geographer, natural history, naturalist, ethnology, ethnologist, travel literature, travel writer, journalist and revol ...

in 1775 from specimens of ''

Phormium tenax ''Phormium tenax'' (called flax in New Zealand English; in Māori language, Māori; New Zealand flax outside New Zealand; and New Zealand hemp in historical nautical contexts) is an evergreen perennial plant native to New Zealand and Norfolk I ...

'' collected by both Forsters and the Swedish naturalist

Anders Erikson Sparrman Anders Sparrman (27 February 1748 – 9 August 1820) was a Swedish Natural history, naturalist, abolitionism, abolitionist and an Apostles of Linnaeus, apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Biography file:Anders Sparrman miniatyr.jpg, left, Portrait miniat ...

. All of them were part of the second expedition of Captain

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

aboard the ''Resolution'' (1772–1775). The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

s were taken from Queen Charlotte Sound, with additional specimens from both

and

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

, New Zealand. The name ''Phormium'' comes from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

for a "basket", while ''tenax'' is a Latin adjective meaning "holding fast, tenacious".

Description and ecology

''Phormium'' is an

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are flowering plants whose seeds contain only one Embryo#Plant embryos, embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. A monocot taxon has been in use for several decades, but ...

. The tough, sword-shaped

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

grow up to long and up to wide. They are usually darkish green but sometimes have coloured edges and central ribs. Cultivated varieties range from light green through pink to deep russet bronze. There are numerous variegated

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s with leaves marked by contrasting stripes in shades of green, red, bronze, pink and yellow. The rigid flower stalks can be up to long, projecting high above the foliage. In November (in New Zealand) they produce clumps of curving tube-like

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s which turn bright red when mature. These produce unusually large quantities of

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

to attract all nectar-feeding birds such as the

tūī The tūī (''Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae'') is a medium-sized bird native to New Zealand. It is blue, green, and bronze coloured with a distinctive white throat tuft (poi). It is an endemism, endemic passerine bird of New Zealand, and the on ...

and insects. The seedpods that develop after

pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma (botany), stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or bu ...

, each contain hundreds of seeds which are later widely dispersed by the wind.

Distribution and habitat

''Phormium tenax'' occurs naturally in New Zealand and

, while ''P. colensoi'' is endemic to New Zealand. Both species have been widely distributed to temperate regions of the world as economic fibre and ornamental plants. They are found mainly in

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s or low-lying areas but will grow in a variety of habitats.

Cultivation

The two species readily interbreed and there is part considerable regional variation in '' Phormium colensoi''. Where the two species co-occur, there is local

introgression Introgression, also known as introgressive hybridization, in genetics is the transfer of genetic material from one species into the gene pool of another by the repeated backcrossing of an interspecific hybrid with one of its parent species. Introg ...

. In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of ''Phormium'' cultivars commercially available. The 2005–2006 edition of the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

''Plant Finder'' listed 75 cultivars. As early as the 1920s it was recognised that

ploidy Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Here ''sets of chromosomes'' refers to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, ...

plays a role in some cultivars due to the work of John Stuart Yeates. The highly regarded

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

''Ngaro'' was isolated from the Moutoa swamp, Foxton. The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

for growing in UK gardens: *''Phormium colensoi'' subsp. ''hookeri'' 'Cream Delight' *''Phormium colensoi'' subsp. ''hookeri'' 'Tricolor' *''Phormium'' 'Duet' *''Phormium'' 'Sundowner' *''Phormium tenax'' 'Variegatum' *''Phormium'' 'Yellow Wave'

Uses

''Phormium'' produces long leaf fibres that have played an important role in the culture, history and economy of New Zealand. Both species have been widely distributed to temperate regions of the world as economic fibre and ornamental plants.

References

{{Authority control Asphodelaceae genera Hemerocallidoideae Flora of New Zealand