Phormium tenax (harakeke in Māori, New Zealand flax) is an evergreen perennial plant from New Zealand and Norfolk Island. It is an important fibre plant and also a popular garden plant.
The plant grows as a clump of long, straplike leaves up to two meters long. It grows a much taller flowering shoot, with dramatic yellow or red flowers.
The fibre from the plant was used by the Māori of New Zealand to make baskets. It was also used in rope and sail making. after the arrival of Europeans up until at least WWII
In other countries Phormium tenax is an invasive species. On Saint Helena it is taking over the land from the critically endangered species Elaphoglossum dimorphum.