Phormium tenax 'Rongotainui'. Harakeke cultivar.
Māori names
Māori names
Description
Harakeke cultivar. 1) Best 1942: a longleaved variety
2) Williams 1971: a longleaved variety of Tīhore
3) Gregory Collection, Kaitaia; Muka flax. Similar to Paritaniwha, except edges are orange colour
4) Shortland 1856: Best fibre. Not found growing plentifully in wild state, but is cultivated to a moderate extent.
5) Mantell, Maugatautari, Flax Commissioners Report 1871: a fine kind.
6) Andersen 1926; listed
7) Heaphy 1870: "This flax grows most extensively on the East Coast and at the Bay of Plenty; it is, of all, the most prized for the manufacture of fishing lines and cordage. The Rongotainui is probably the best for commercial purposes generally; it is rather scarce in its wild state, but is carefully grown about the native settlements. The leaf of this kind of flax may be scraped or beaten without injury to the fibre which it contains. The natives cut across the epidermis on the under side of the leaf, previous to drawing it over the edge of a shell or knife "
