Most growers are raising subspecies of Phormium tenax (also known as New Zealand flax) or hybrids of Phormium tenax and Phormium cookianum (sometimes called mountain flax).

Phormium tenax is a New Zealand native, also known as New Zealand flax or harakeke. The plant grows on coastal swamps and low hills – although growth can vary from upright to floppy.

(Hybrid forms are a cross between Phormium cookianum and Phormium tenax.) Phormium prefer moderate water and soil that drains reasonably well. If you have heavy soil, plant the flax on a mound or ...

This article was originally published with the title “Phormium Tenax, or New-Zealand Flax” in SA Supplements Vol. 1 No. 11supp (March 1876), p. 176 doi:10.1038/scientificamerican03111876-176bsupp ...

I now have three mature (10 feet) phormium tenax growing within a foot of; a rowan tree, a eucalyptus gunni, and a buddleia. All are now good sized trees. Say 15 feet high.

Phormium tenax as a Fibrous Plant. Edited by Sir James Hector, &c. With Plates. Second Edition. (Wellington, New Zealand: By authority, George Didsbury, Government Printer, 1889.) ...

Priscilla M. Wehi, Indigenous Ancestral Sayings Contribute to Modern Conservation Partnerships: Examples Using Phormium Tenax, Ecological Applications, Vol. 19, No. 1 ...

Phormium tenax is one of those exotically "architectural" plants whose lateral growth can, at length, seem exponential.