Phormium tenax 'Ngutunui'. Harakeke cultivar.
Māori names
Māori names
Description
1) Notes from Flax Commissioners Report 1870, 1871:
Kelly, New Plymouth 1870; leaf erect, like Takaiapu. Blunt point. Red at butts when split. Quick grower and matures early.
Taranaki Native; one of best for garment making. Prepared sample for Flax Commissioners 1871.
Opunake Native, 1871; breaking strain = 95
Wi Tako, Waikanae. Much esteemed leaf. Dark olive green with dark red edge. Not cultivated.
West Coast, Heaphy; Mentioned, but no description.
2) Best 1898, 1908 ; Nets, snares made from this in Urewera
3) Best 1942; listed among varieties
4) New Zealand Department of Agriculture Annual Report 1908; Highly prized by Māori. Make finer kinds of mats and shawls. Fibre is strong and elastic, thin but strong and tough. Fibre strongest tested and resembles good Manila hemp. A shorter variety with a thin, drooping leaf. Red butt. Difficult to wash and bleach because of colour. Closely resembles Nguturua or Ngutuwahine.
5) Andersen 1907; Bluntpointed. Split into unscraped threads for weaving nets
6) Drysdale and McGregor 1910 ; Grown at Weraroa by Department of Agriculture. Some grown from seed brought from Taranaki. Wide variation in seedlings. One row true to name. Highly prized by Taranaki Māori.
