{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=July 2024}} {{Speciesbox |taxon = Phormium colensoi |authority = Hook.f.<ref name="ibdEF" /> | synonyms = *''Phormium cookianum'' <small>Le Jol.</small> *''Phormium cookianum'' subsp. ''hookeri'' <small>(Gunn ex Hook.f.) Wardle</small><ref name="U7eK3" /> *''Phormium forsterianum'' <small>Hook.</small> ''nom. nud.'' *''Phormium hookeri'' <small>Gunn ex Hook.f.</small><ref name="SQV3v" /> |synonyms_ref = <ref name="WCSP_284212" /> |image=Tui on mountain flax flowers.jpg |image_caption=Mountain flax being visited by a tūī }} thumb|Flowers thumb|Pods '''''Phormium colensoi''''' (syn. ''Phormium cookianum'' – see below), also called '''mountain flax''', or {{lang|mi|wharariki}} in Māori, is a perennial plant that is endemic to New Zealand.<ref name="DoC" /> The greenish, yellow or orange flowers are followed by twisted seed pods.<ref name="DoC" /> It is less common than the other ''Phormium'' species, ''P. tenax'' or {{lang|mi|harakeke}}. Mountain flax is also known as {{lang|mi|whararipi}}, {{lang|mi|whatariki}}, {{lang|mi|mangaeka}}, {{lang|mi|kōrari tuauru}} (Williams 1971), {{lang|mi|wauraki}} (Bell 1890 sic.),<ref name="maoriplantuse" /> coastal flax, hill flax<ref name="maoriplantuse" /> and lesser New Zealand flax.<ref name="BSBI07" />
==Description== The leaves are under 2 metres in length while those of ''P. tenax'' range from 1 to 3 metres in length.<ref name="Wardle1979" /> The scape is much shorter than that of ''P. tenax'', rising up to 2 metres in height while that of ''P. tenax'' is around 5 metres in height.<ref name="Wardle1979" /> The colour of the inner tepals is green while the outer tepals are yellow to red.<ref name="Wardle1979" /> In contrast the tepals of ''P. tenax'' are a dull red, with the tips of the inner tepals being less strongly recurved.<ref name="Wardle1979" /> The capsules of ''P. colensoi'', unlike those of ''P. tenax'' are twisted and pendulous, and may be twice as long (up to 20 cm in length).<ref name="Wardle1979" /> The numerous seeds in each pod are glossy black, flat and elongated with a frilled margin <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/phormium-cookianum-subsp-cookianum/|title=Phormium cookianum |publisher= New Zealand Plant Conservation network|access-date=8 February 2023|date=1 June 2013}}</ref>
''Phormium colensoi'' has two distinct geographic forms, one occurring in lowland parts of the North Island, and the other in the southern and mountainous areas of the South Island as well as ranges in the North Island. The lowland form has green or yellow tepals and the mountain form has red tepals.<ref name="Wardle1979" /> In the Cook Strait area, both forms and intermediates can be found.<ref name="Wardle1979" />
==Taxonomy== The species was originally mentioned without description by William Colenso, the name being given as ''Phormium forsterianum''.<ref name="FNZ" /><ref name="Colenso1844" /> It was later known as ''P. colensoi'', a name that was listed without description in 1846 by Joseph Dalton Hooker.<ref name="yEwJM" /> The name became better known from J. D. Hooker's 1864 publication in ''Handbook of the New Zealand Flora''.<ref name="FNZ" /> However, previously, in 1848, Auguste François Le Jolis had described the species under the name ''P. cookianum'',<ref name="FNZ" /><ref name="04oIE" /> and for many years this name was thought to have priority over Hooker's name ''P. colensoi''. The latter is now regarded as the accepted name by some, based on a brief description of the species in a quotation from J.D. Hooker in an article by Auguste Le Jolis in the ''Revue Horticole'' of 1 January 1848.<ref name="WCSP_Pc" /><ref name="leJolis1848" /> Another specimen, believed to be identical to a plant found by Ronald Gunn at the Whanganui River<ref name="Earp2014" /> in 1864, was described from a plant growing in a garden in Torquay, England in 1888 and given the name ''P. hookeri'' (later reduced to a subspecies under the name ''P. cookianum'' subsp. ''hookeri'').<ref name="FNZ" /> This name is also now regarded as a synonym of ''P. colensoi'' by some.<ref name="WCSP_Ph" /> ''Phormium cookianum'',<ref name="LeJolis1848x" /> however, is still the preferred name in Aotearoa New Zealand according to Ngā Tipu Aotearoa<ref name="O4d14" /> and The Flora of New Zealand,<ref name="8Xxxs" /> as studies of the complex morphological and genetic variation<ref name="McBreen2003" /><ref name="Scheele2010" /><ref name="Smissen2008">{{cite journal |last1=Smissen |first1=R. D. |last2=Heenan |first2=P. B. |last3=Houliston |first3=G. J. |title=Genetic and morphological evidence for localised interspecific gene flow in Phormium (Hemerocallidaceae) |journal=New Zealand Journal of Botany |date=September 2008 |volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=287–297 |doi=10.1080/00288250809509767|bibcode=2008NZJB...46..287S |s2cid=205448164 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Smissen2010c">{{cite journal |last1=Smissen |first1=R. D. |last2=Heenan |first2=P. B. |title=A taxonomic appraisal of the Chatham Islands flax (Phormium tenax) using morphological and DNA fingerprint data |journal=Australian Systematic Botany |date=2010 |volume=23 |issue=5 |pages=371 |doi=10.1071/SB10023 |bibcode=2010AuSyB..23..371S }}</ref> as well as hybridization,<ref name="Smissen2007">{{cite journal |last1=Smissen |first1=R. D. |last2=Heenan |first2=P. B. |title=DNA fingerprinting supports hybridisation as a factor explaining complex natural variation in Phormium (Hemerocallidaceae) |journal=New Zealand Journal of Botany |date=June 2007 |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=419–432 |doi=10.1080/00288250709509723|bibcode=2007NZJB...45..419S |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Houliston2008" /> and hence taxonomy, of the genus are still underway.
==Uses== {{See also|Māori traditional textiles}} Wharariki is a taonga (sacred, treasure) species to Māori and numerous traditional cultivars have been used for various purposes. Refer to Ngā Tipu Whakaoranga [Māōri Plant Use Database] and the citations within<ref name="maoriplantuse" /> and Te Kohinga Harakeke o Aotearoa – National New Zealand Flax Collection.<ref name="6HFHv" />
*''Wharariki'' - a variety from Urewera has a superior fibre quality that may be woven into a soft kete [traditional Māori basket]. It has a slight yellow colouration when dried.<ref name="Harakeke" /> *''Whakaari'' - a variety with leaves suitable for weaving kete, but less suitable than other cultivars for piupiu [Māori waist-to-knees garment made of flax - has a wide waistband and is used in modern times for kapa haka performances].<ref name="piupiu" /> The leaves have strong blades and dry naturally to a deep green colour, or to a pale greenish-fawn after being boiled for a minute.
==Cultivars== Numerous cultivars of this species have been selected for cultivation (those marked {{smallcaps|agm}} have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit):<ref name="wbpYQ" /> *'Black Adder' <ref name="RHS" /> *'Cream Delight'{{smallcaps|agm}}<ref name="CreamDelight" /> *'Dark Delight' has deep-red leaves up to 1.2 metres in length<ref name="Turner1999" /> *'Duet', a dwarf cultivar up to 30 cm in height with cream and green variegated foliage<ref name="Turner1999" /> *'Flamingo'<ref name="RHS" /> *'Golden Wonder'<ref name="RHS" /> *'Maori Maiden' (also known as 'Rainbow Maiden'), an erect growing cultivar with leaves to 1 metre in length with bronze stripes<ref name="Turner1999" /> *'Sundowner', a cultivar with very long leaves which are up to 1.8 metres long. These have a purple centre and cream edges.<ref name="Turner1999" /> *'Tricolor',{{smallcaps|agm}}<ref name="Tricolor" /> an upright cultivar that has leaves with red, yellow and green stripes. The flowers are pale yellowish-green.<ref name="Turner1999" />
There is also a dwarf cultivar, and hybrid cultivars have been selected from crosses with ''Phormium tenax''.<ref name="RHS" /> ''P. colensoi'' cultivars are regarded as less hardy than other ''Phormium'' cultivars.<ref name="Fernwood" />
==See also== *Exocarpic acid, a rare fatty acid found in the plant.
==References== <references>
<ref name="WCSP_284212">{{Cite web |title=''Phormium colensoi''|work=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=https://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=284212 |access-date=2014-08-21}}</ref> <ref name="maoriplantuse">{{cite web | url=https://maoriplantuse.landcareresearch.co.nz/WebForms/PeoplePlantsDetails.aspx?firstcome=firstcome&PKey=3a941504-c23e-40c1-850f-4510dc53edc2&theSearchString=phormium~cookianum&SearchType=1&SearchPage=0&SearchDB=1&SearchGroup=&FieldSearch1=&FieldSearch2=&FieldSearch3=&Field1=1&Field2=1&Field3=1&FromSearch=true | title = Ngā Tipu Whakaoranga [Māori Plant Use database] | access-date=2020-10-29}}</ref> <ref name="BSBI07">{{BSBI 2007 |access-date=2014-10-17}}</ref> <ref name="DoC">{{cite web|title=Harakeke/flax|url=http://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/about-doc/concessions-and-permits/conservation-revealed/harakeke-flax-lowres.pdf|publisher=Department of Conversation|access-date=2009-01-25}}</ref> <ref name="Wardle1979">{{cite journal |last=Wardle |first=P. |year=1979 |title=Variation in ''Phormium cookianum'' (Agavaceae) |journal=New Zealand Journal of Botany |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=189–196 |url=https://www.royalsociety.org.nz/publications/journals/nzjb/1979/018/ |access-date=2011-05-08 |doi=10.1080/0028825x.1979.10426888|bibcode=1979NZJB...17..189W |doi-access=free }}</ref> <ref name="FNZ">{{cite web |title=''P. cookianum'' |last1=Moore |first1=Lucy B. |last2=Edgar |first2=Elizabeth |work=Indigenous Tracheophyta - Monocotyledons except Graminae |series=Flora of New Zealand |publisher=Landcare Research |edition=electronic |url=http://floraseries.landcareresearch.co.nz/pages/Taxon.aspx?id=_b9eb06bb-671a-4161-9f1d-af23650b1782&fileName=Flora%202.xml#_b9eb06bb-671a-4161-9f1d-af23650b1782|access-date=2009-01-28|archive-date=2021-01-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104053319/https://floraseries.landcareresearch.co.nz/pages/Taxon.aspx?id=_b9eb06bb-671a-4161-9f1d-af23650b1782&fileName=Flora+2.xml#_b9eb06bb-671a-4161-9f1d-af23650b1782|url-status=live}}</ref> <ref name="WCSP_Pc">{{Cite web |title=''Phormium colensoi'' |work=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=https://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=284212 |access-date=2012-08-28 |archive-date=2021-01-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104053244/https://wcsp.science.kew.org/namedetail.do?name_id=284212 |url-status=live }}</ref> <ref name="leJolis1848">{{Cite journal |last=le Jolis |first=Auguste |year=1848 |title=Note sur la floraison du Lin de la Nouvelle-Zélande à Cherbourg |journal=Revue Horticole, Series III |volume=2 |pages=5–8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H90XAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA5 |access-date=2012-08-28}} p. 6.</ref> <ref name="WCSP_Ph">{{Cite web |title=''Phormium hookeri'' |work=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=https://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=284244 |access-date=2012-08-28 |archive-date=2021-01-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104053327/https://wcsp.science.kew.org/namedetail.do?name_id=284244 |url-status=live }}</ref> <ref name="Harakeke">{{cite web|title=Harakeke weaving varieties – complete list of cultivars in the Rene Orchison collection|url=https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/tools-and-resources/collections/new-zealand-flax-collections/flax-cultivars/wharariki62/|access-date=2020-10-29}}</ref> <ref name="RHS">{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Finder|url=http://www.rhs.org.uk/rhsplantfinder/plantfinder2.asp?crit=phormium%20and%20cookianum|publisher=Royal Horticultural Society|access-date=2009-01-28}}{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> <ref name="Turner1999">{{cite book|author=Turner, R.G.|title=Botanica|year=1999|publisher=Barnes & Noble Pty Ltd|isbn=0-7607-1642-0|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/botanicaillustra0000unse}}</ref> <ref name="Fernwood">{{cite web|title=''Phormium'' cultivation|publisher=Fernwood Nursery|url= http://www.fernwood-nursery.co.uk/phormium/2phcultiv.htm|access-date=2009-01-28}}</ref> <ref name="ibdEF">{{cite web | url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-284212 | title=Taxon: ''Phormium colensoi'' Hookf. | access-date=2012-08-26 | work=The Plant List | publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden | archive-date=2021-01-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104053249/http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-284212 | url-status=live }}</ref> <ref name="U7eK3">{{Cite web|title=''Phormium cookianum subsp. hookeri''|work=International Plant Names Index|url=https://www.ipni.org/ipni/idPlantNameSearch.do?id=886404-1|access-date=2014-08-30|archive-date=2021-01-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104053302/https://www.ipni.org/n/886404-1|url-status=live}}</ref> <ref name="SQV3v">{{Cite web |title=''Phormium hookeri''|work=International Plant Names Index |url=https://www.ipni.org/ipni/idPlantNameSearch.do?id=539920-1 |access-date=2014-08-30}}</ref> <ref name="Colenso1844">{{cite journal|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/6314#page/5/mode/1up|year=1844|journal=London Journal of Botany|volume=3|pages=1–62|title=Journal of a naturalist in some little known parts of New Zealand, by William Colenso, Esq., in a letter to Sir W. J. Hooker (page 8)}}</ref> <ref name="yEwJM">{{cite book|title='Choix de plantes de la Nouvelle-Zélande|year=1846|editor=Étienne Fiacre Louis Raoul|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O7ZLAAAAYAAJ&q=id%3DO7ZLAAAAYAAJ|pages=41}}</ref> <ref name="04oIE">{{cite web|url=https://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=284039|work=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|access-date=2012-08-29|title=''Phormium cookianum''}}</ref> <ref name="Earp2014">{{Cite journal |last=Earp |first=Clem |year=2014 |title=A correspondence long interrupted: Ronald Gunn re-establishes contact with Joseph Hooker in 1870 |journal=Victorian Naturalist |volume=131 |issue=6 |pages=204–208}}</ref> <ref name="LeJolis1848x">{{cite journal |last=Le Jolis |first=MA. |year=1848 |title=On a new kind of ''Phormium'', or New Zealand flax |journal=London Journal of Botany |volume=17 |pages=533–537 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/6318#page/529/mode/thumb |access-date=2020-10-28 |archive-date=2021-01-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104053259/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/6318#page/529/mode/thumb |url-status=live }}</ref> <ref name="O4d14">{{cite web | url=https://nzflora.landcareresearch.co.nz/default.aspx?selected=NameDetails&TabNum=0&NameId=19D1BC8B-7323-465D-AF46-4F5D039A93E1 | title = Ngā Tipu Aotearoa | access-date=2020-10-29}}</ref> <ref name="8Xxxs">{{cite web | url= https://www.nzflora.info/factsheet/Taxon/Phormium-cookianum.html| title = Flora of New Zealand | access-date=2020-10-29}}</ref> <ref name="6HFHv">{{cite web | url=https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/tools-and-resources/collections/new-zealand-flax-collections/| title = Te Kohinga Harakeke o Aotearoa [National New Zealand Flax Collection] | access-date=2020-10-29}}</ref> <ref name="piupiu">{{cite web | url=https://maoridictionary.co.nz/search?idiom=&phrase=&proverb=&loan=&histLoanWords=&keywords=piupiu | title = Te Aka Māori -English English-Māori Dictionary | access-date=2020-10-29}}</ref> <ref name="wbpYQ">{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 78 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date = 25 April 2018 | archive-date = 5 January 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180105180412/https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref> <ref name="CreamDelight">{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Phormium cookianum'' subsp. ''hookeri'' 'Cream Delight'|url=http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=5800|access-date=22 July 2013}}{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> <ref name="Tricolor">{{cite web|title=RHS Plant Selector - ''Phormium cookianum'' subsp. ''hookeri'' 'Tricolor'|url=http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=3812|access-date=22 July 2013}}{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> <ref name="McBreen2003">{{cite journal |last1=McBreen |first1=Kim |last2=Lockhart |first2=Peter J. |last3=McLenachan |first3=Patricia A. |last4=Scheele |first4=Sue |last5=Robertson |first5=Alastair W. |title=The use of molecular techniques to resolve relationships among traditional weaving cultivars of Phormium |journal=New Zealand Journal of Botany |date=June 2003 |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=301–310 |doi=10.1080/0028825X.2003.9512849|bibcode=2003NZJB...41..301M |doi-access=free }}</ref> <ref name="Scheele2010">{{cite journal |last1=Scheele |first1=Sm |last2=Smissen |first2=Rd |title=Insights into the origin and identity of National New Zealand Flax Collection plants from simple sequence repeat (SSR) genotyping |journal=New Zealand Journal of Botany |date=March 2010 |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=41–54 |doi=10.1080/00288251003685510|bibcode=2010NZJB...48...41S |s2cid=83774568 |doi-access=free }}</ref> <ref name="Houliston2008">{{cite journal |last1=Houliston |first1=G. J. |last2=Heenan |first2=P. B. |last3=Smissen |first3=R. D. |title=Experimental crosses in Phormium confirm the lack of intrinsic barriers to interspecific hybridisation and the fertility of putative wild hybrids |journal=New Zealand Journal of Botany |date=December 2008 |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=393–399 |doi=10.1080/00288250809509778|bibcode=2008NZJB...46..393H |doi-access=free }}</ref>
</references>
{{Commons category|Phormium colensoi}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q7187392}}
Category:Hemerocallidoideae Category:Flora of New Zealand Category:Garden plants Category:Garden plants of New Zealand Category:Perennial plants Category:Endemic flora of New Zealand Category:Austronesian agriculture