. Plants of New Zealand. eteenth century. In the Annual Register of 1819, it wasstated that ropes made from the PhoDnium had beenexperimented with in the Portsmouth dockyards, and found tostand the test. The ropes were said to be strong, pliable, andvery silky. A Maori named Tupai visited England in the time ofGeorge IIL, and was amused to see a plant of flax growingin a pot under glass. It is said to have been cultivated in theopen by a Frenchman of the name of Freycinet, in 1813, whenit grew to a height of six feet, and bore a large spike offlowers. It seems also to have been, a little later
. Plants of New Zealand. eteenth century. In the Annual Register of 1819, it wasstated that ropes made from the PhoDnium had beenexperimented with in the Portsmouth dockyards, and found tostand the test. The ropes were said to be strong, pliable, andvery silky. A Maori named Tupai visited England in the time ofGeorge IIL, and was amused to see a plant of flax growingin a pot under glass. It is said to have been cultivated in theopen by a Frenchman of the name of Freycinet, in 1813, whenit grew to a height of six feet, and bore a large spike offlowers. It seems also to have been, a little later, successfullycultivated in the British Isles, and to have ripened seeds as THE LILY FAMILY 105 far north as the Orkneys. It can bear uninjured a temperatureof 15*-* Fahrenheit, and it is only at O^ that the tops of theleaves become frost-bitten. It appears to be a plant suitablefor universal naturalization, on account of the varyingtemperature it will bear unhurt, and the fact that sheep andcattle do not usually eat Fig. 28. Pbormium tenax. (The New Zealand Flax.) The root of the Phorinium is a thick, creeping leaves have no footstalks, but ascend straight from thecrown of the plant. The flowers are more curious thanbeautiful, and are of a dull, dingy red, or sometimes yellowcolour. The dark stamens hang out far below the petals, andare tipped with bright yellow anthers. These blossoms secretea great quantity of nectar, which is very attractive to birds. 106 PLANTS OF NEW ZP:ALAND They are visited constantly by the tuis and parrots, whichthus cross-polhnate them. The seeds are black, shining, flat,and packed closely in a capsule. This plant has often been used medicinally. A pulp madefrom the roasted and macerated roots is sometimes applied asa poultice for abscesses, while a decoction of the same is saidto act like a charm upon unbroken chilblains. The soft partat the base of the leaf is placed over wounds to stop bleeding,though some bushmen have an idea tha
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