

2018 Concert coming up soon
Date posted: 15-Feb-2018
Our 2018 concert will feature an afternoon of light classics and jazz courtesy of the Auckland Ph..
Wetapunga talk coming soon
Date posted: 05-Feb-2018
For the Social on 19 March the speaker will be Ben Goodwin of Auckland Zoo, who will talk about t..
Rat caught and now takahe released from pens
Date posted: 28-Jan-2018
Thankfully DOC staff Andre de Graaf and Polly Hall and their assistants have trapped the rat whic..
Your Christmas Shopping for a Song
Date posted: 04-Dec-2017
Aka - The Grand Christmas Shopping Expedition to Tiritiri Matangi Island Shop
Dreading..
2018 Photo Comp opens for entries
Date posted: 27-Nov-2017
The 2018 Photo Competition is now open for entries. Click here (/2018-photo-competition-tiritiri-mat..
New reports on ruru nesting and Island conservation
Date posted: 02-Oct-2017
Two new reports have been added to the website.
The first gives details of a summer students..
2018 calendars now available
Date posted: 27-Sep-2017
Our latest calendar, beautifully illustrated with images taken on the Island, is now available fo..
Guided walks for photographers
Date posted: 21-Jun-2017
For a wonderful day of wildlife photography please join us on Tiritiri Matangi Island for a Ph..
Ferry discounts for Supporters
Date posted: 18-May-2017
Tiritiri Matangi Island, the perfect winter's day trip. The birds are at their best, warm up w..
More kiwi for the Island
Date posted: 04-Apr-2017
In 1993 and 1995, sixteen little spotted kiwi were released on Tiritiri Matangi Island. The ma..
Flax
Botanical name: | Phormium tenax |
Maori name: | Harakeke |
Common name: | Flax |

A member of the day lily family Hermerocallidaceae, flax is capable of surviving on clifftops and bone-dry cuttings as well as in swamps. Leaves are 1 – 3 m long.
Flax played an important role in traditional Maori life. It was used to make clothing, food baskets, mats and fish traps. Fibre was extracted from the leaves by first scraping them with a mussel shell. It was then washed, dried and bleached in the sun. The fibre was rolled into a double thread for weaving.
Flower stalks were made into rafts and nectar from the flowers sweetened fern root meal. The orange gum from the base of the plant was administered as an antiseptic and used to stop bleeding.
When flowering flax provides nectar for honeyeaters. The seeds are eaten by kakariki and the bushy clumps provide shelter and nesting sites for penguins. Flowering is from November to January, with seeds from February to March.
Flax was also used for rope making by Europeans, initially for the Royal Navy.
Photography by Jan Velvin © (top right, bottom left ) and by Peter Craw © (bottom left)