Phormium tenax 'Tāpoto'. Harakeke cultivar.
Māori names
Māori names
Description
Harakeke cultivar. 1) The following notes have been taken from Flax Commissioners Reports 1870, 1871:
Nairn, Hawkes Bay. Flax principally used for dressing. Strong lustrous fibre. Often planted, rows 20" apart - best in very rich vegetable soil with plenty of moisture. In favourable conditions reaches a height of four feet. Leaves narrow, stand erect. Deep purple margin.
Locke, East Coast. Tāpoto also called Tākirikau, Tīhore or Tākiri. Best variety on East Coast. Scarlet edges.
Jenkins, Waikato. Dark green plant, smaller than other Waikato varieties.
Armstrong, Christchurch. Similar to Tīhore, i.e. leaves linear and very strong. Leaves tapering at point. Edges red. % fibre = 18.7
Hursthouse, Opunake. First rate quality.
Nairn, Hawkes Bay. Used for sewing threads or weft of fine mats.
Heaphy, East Coast. Probably also known as Oue - fibre glossy, silky, but brittle, used for kaitaka mats.
Opunake Native; Breaking strain = 101
2) Best 1942: superior variety
3) Williams 1971: superior varieties of flax. "Ka whenutia te tāroa hei whenu ; ko te tāpoto, hei aho tena" = tīhore, tākiri-kau
4) Andersen 1926: strong fibred variety.
5) Hector 1889: favourite variety at Napier. Probably same as Oue.
6) Colenso 1880: A "fine old plantation" of Tāpoto stood in the spot where Havelock (North) now stands.
