New Zealand flax

American  

noun

1. a large New Zealand plant, Phormium tenax, of the agave family, having showy, red-margined, leathery leaves and dull-red flowers, grown as an ornamental and for the fiber-yielding leaves.

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Etymology

Origin of New Zealand flax

First recorded in 1805–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

New Zealand flax

Shirts made of thin soft flannel, knickerbockers and Norfolk jackets of tough New Zealand flax, with gaiters of the same material.

From By Sheer Pluck, a Tale of the Ashanti War by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty

On the crumbling, rotten earth the New Zealand flax, the Phormium tenax, loves to grow, and to its long, ribbon-like leaves the eel-fishers fastened their lines securely, baiting each alternate hook with mutton and worms.

From Station Amusements in New Zealand by Lady (Mary Anne) Barker

Their mother sits on the ground with a little weaving frame about two feet high before her, and makes them of what is called New Zealand flax.

From Holiday Stories for Young People by Margaret Elizabeth Sangster

The rind of the Adansonia digitata also yields an extremely good material; in particular, paper made entirely from New Zealand flax deserves consideration, being, by virtue of its superior toughness, eminently suited for "bill paper."

From The Former Philippines thru Foreign Eyes by Austin Craig

Strips of the New Zealand flax plant, Phormium tenax, are made into baskets in New Zealand.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 3 "Banks" to "Bassoon" by Various