Buchanan J. 1868. Sketch of the botany of Otago. Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 1: 22-53
Notes
Description of Otago flora. Quality of native grasses for grazing.
Mentions flax "certain to become so important in the manufacture of cloth fabrics, ropes and paper, that the time will come when the farmer will be as anxious to secure crops of this plant as he is now to get rid of it." Fern, flax, and tutu all troublesome to land clearers.
Value of native pines for timber. Toatoa (Phyllocladus toatoa) used in dyeing by Māori.
Use of raukawa, Raukaua edgerleyi, for scent.
Celmisia could be used for paper.
Towai or kamahi used for tanning.
Astringent juice of Fuchsia forms shades of purple to black, with iron.
Cabbage tree perhaps "most striking plant of the district...abundantly scattered over the ridges...having...escaped burning" Flax variety most common in Otago large-leaved plant on rich, wet soil .."probably inferior on that account as a fibrous material....no doubt be valuable in the manufacture of paper or rope"
Author compares common Otago flax with tīhore.
Bibliographic details
Sketch of the botany of Otago