phormium tenax

3 definitions found

phormium tenax - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Flax-plant \Flax"-plant`\, n. (Bot.)
     A plant in new Zealand (Phormium tenax), allied to the
     lilies and aloes. The leaves are two inches wide and several
     feet long, and furnish a fiber which is used for making
     ropes, mats, and coarse cloth.
     [1913 Webster]

  New Zealand \New` Zea"land\
     A group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     New Zealand flax.
     (a) (Bot.) A tall, liliaceous herb (Phormium tenax), having
         very long, sword-shaped, distichous leaves which furnish
         a fine, strong fiber very valuable for cordage and the
         like.
     (b) The fiber itself.
  
     New Zealand tea (Bot.), a myrtaceous shrub (Leptospermum  scoparium
        ) of New Zealand and Australia, the leaves of
        which are used as a substitute for tea.
        [1913 Webster]

  Phormium \Phor"mi*um\, n. [NL. fr. Gr. ? a plaited mat, a kind
     of plant.] (Bot.)
     A genus of liliaceous plants, consisting of one species
     (Phormium tenax). See Flax-plant.
     [1913 Webster]