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Plant

Harakeke

Phormium tenax

Also known as: New Zealand flax, Phormium tenax

Aotearoa New Zealand's iconic flax — a large clump-forming monocot with sword-shaped leaves up to 3m long and red-orange flower spikes attractive to tūī. The fibre source of one of the most sophisticated textile traditions in pre-industrial Polynesia, central to Māori weaving (raranga and whatu) and rongoā (traditional medicine). Wetland-edge ecological keystone.

Scientific

Phormium tenax (family Asphodelaceae) is a perennial monocot forming dense clumps. Flower spikes are tall (up to 5m) with curved tubular flowers in red-orange, bird-pollinated. Seeds are produced in upright pods. The plant tolerates wet feet, drought, salt, and frost — making it one of the most ecologically flexible natives.

Cultural

Harakeke is a taonga of profound importance. The cultivated weaving varieties — Phormium cultivars selected by Māori over centuries — are the substrate of raranga (plaiting) and whatu (twining), the traditional textile arts that produced everything from kete (baskets) and whāriki (mats) to kahu (cloaks) and ropes. Each named variety has specific characteristics: leaf strength, suppleness, colour when dyed, fibre yield when stripped (muka).

Rongoā uses include the juicy gel from the leaf base, traditionally applied to burns, wounds, and skin conditions.

See also

Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.

  • Member of: [[plants]]
  • Contained by: [[tamaki-makaurau]]
  • Grown by: [[ecomatters-community-nursery]] · [[kaipatiki-project-native-plant-nursery]] · [[te-whangai-trust]] · [[thriving-natives]]

Sources

  • DOC and Te Ara species pages
  • Landcare Research — Ngā Tipu Whakaoranga

A plant entry in the 0mn1.one [[directory]].

Grown by

All listings →

Farms and nurseries in the 0mn1.one directory that grow harakeke. Each is a real working operation — visit, buy from, learn from.

EcoMatters Community Nursery

substrate builder

tamaki-makaurau

A community native-plant nursery operated by EcoMatters Environment Trust at 1 Olympic Place in New Lynn, West Auckland. Eco-sources from the Waitākere Ecological District and grows 30+ native species suited to stream and wetland environments. Plants are available online via click-and-collect; the operation supports both local restoration projects and home/landscape gardens.

Kaipātiki Project Native Plant Nursery

substrate builder

tamaki-makaurau

A community-driven, chemical-free native plant nursery on Auckland's North Shore, operating two sites — Birkdale (17 Lauderdale Road) and Engine Bay garden at Hobsonville Point. Eco-sources, propagates, and pots up tens of thousands of native plants annually across 80+ species, supplying local reserve restoration and community planting projects. Member of Te Aka Kōtuia, Auckland's network of iwi and community native nurseries.

Te Whāngai Trust

knowledge care

tamaki-makaurau

An eco-preneurial social enterprise founded in 2007 by Gary Dalton (fifth-generation Miranda farmer) and his wife Adrienne Dalton (Justice of the Peace). Operates native plant nurseries at Miranda (on the Firth of Thames) and Glenbrook (south Auckland) as activity-based learning platforms for welfare recipients, former offenders, and others facing barriers to work. Plants supply wetland restoration projects across the wider Auckland-Hauraki region.

Thriving Natives

substrate builder

tamaki-makaurau

A West Auckland native plant nursery growing and supplying New Zealand natives for landscapers, designers, and homeowners. Catalog spans flowering natives, grasses and flaxes, bird-and-pollinator-friendly plants, hedging and screening species, ferns, groundcovers, and feature trees.

What links here, and how

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Scientific

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General

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