HARAKEKE Flax, New Zealand hemp

Phormium tenax

This is undoubtedly the most valuable and versatile plant in New Zealand and one of the few with an economic value. Rope and millions of wool bales are only two of the products produced from flax.

To the Maori people, before the coming of the white settlers, it was the source of shelter, clothing (cloaks and capes), baskets to cook their food in, traps to catch fish and birds, floor mats, food mats, sails, and baskets for every purpose. The leaf fibres were woven into ropes and sandals, and there were many other ingenious uses, as well as being one of the plants with great medicinal properties. To quote Dr. Bell: “The medical uses of the leaves and roots were many and proved to be effective.”

In appearance it is a huge, untidy bush. The leaves, which grow from the base, are dark, glossy green, sometimes with a brown tinge, coarse, stiff and immensely strong. They grow to a height of between six and ten feet and are two to four inches wide. The flowers, which are yellow and dull red in colour, are borne on short stalks in clusters of four to six blooms. These come from stiff, rounded brown stems called korari, which grow high above the leaves. From November to January, when they are in bloom,

they have a great attraction for birds, as they are full of nectar.

Flax grows everywhere, but best in swamps and damp ground. The Maori family of olden times (and even now in some areas) had their own stand of flax which they replaced every year. When dried the featherweight flower stems were tied in bundles and these were then bound together to form the light rafts, or mokihi, on which rivers and lakes were crossed, using poles - not paddles.

Among many other uses, the leaves were ideal for binding and holding fractures in splints. A large leaf was used as the splint itself. It was cut with a sharp stone and placed under the fractured limb. Another one was cut at the base with a sharp shell and the outer covering pulled off. The inner part of the leaf then sprang out as a mass of silky floss. This was used to bind the leaf splint round the injured part. A bleeding wound was bound with the floss, as it acted as tow and arrested the haemorrhage (Bell). To cure a blistered heel a softened piece of leaf was put in the heel of a sandal. The blanched base of a flax leaf beaten to a pulp, heated and applied hot to an unbroken abscess, boil or tumour would bring it to a head (Colenso).

The demulcent gum which is found at the base of the leaves was put into water to soften and then used with very good effect on burns, scalds and old sores (Adams).

Maori women finely sliced the butts of the leaves and put them in water with the inner bark of hoheria and used the liquid for burns and scalds. The red gum extracted from the base of the leaves was rubbed on the limbs of people suffering from rheumatic and sciatic pains. They first scored the limb with a sharp shell.. This smarted at first (and no wonderl), and was followed by relief from pain.

An excellent Maori way to relieve those who suffered from rheumatism was to boil the broad base of the leaf and rub the warm liquid over the affected limbs. Early settlers found that arthritic pains were eased by this method. The water from flax flowers and flower buds when boiled contain dyes of the following shades: fawn, brown, tan, khaki and apricot. The thick, fleshy bases of the leaves were boiled and the liquid drunk for constipation. The root, really a rhizome, is a valuable purgative and anthelmintic. The juice of the pounded root was drunk. Used externally this cured ringworm and was used on babies’ skins for chafing.

For an aperient the roots were washed, cut in pieces, and boiled in water for half—an—hour. The liquid was taken a tablespoonful at a time by an adult. I know Maoris today who still use this aperient. One told me that this liquid, if rubbed on unbroken chilblains when warm, was a sure cure for them. The butts of the leaves, together with roots, were boiled together for several hours and found to be excellent for lacerations and amputations. Raw roots or boiled ones were the favourite Maori remedy for gunshot or bayonet wounds during the Maori Land wars (Cowan). For a mouthwash and laxative they sometimes skinned the roots; then boiled them and used the juice. Roots of flax have been used as a substitute for sarsaparilla, which is a diuretic and tonic. The roots were scraped, washed well, boiled and the resulting liquid was strained and bottled. It is a good substitute for castor oil (Porlerfy Bay Cookery Calendar).

The Murimotu Maoris boil the stem just above the roots in a pannikin with a little water. Half-an-ounce of the liquid is given to an adult as a purgative.

Roots were roasted in a wood fire; then beaten to a pulp and, while hot, placed on an abscess. This poultice was also used for swollen joints.

A friend once told me that a chemist in Foxton knew of this use for flax root from a well known Maori woman in the district, and made some up for her mother, whose varicose ulcers had for years withstood all doctors’ remedies. She had to paste this mixture over a bandage on her leg several times and leave the bandage on for six weeks. When she took the bandage off the abscess was healed, “and not only hers, but all her friends’ as well,” her daughter said. It must have proved a good business proposition for the chemist!

It appears that for internal use the roots were boiled, and for external use roasted.

One thing that is well established is that the gum, or jelly, of Phormium tenax has definite healing qualities and does contain antiseptic properties.

This karakia was intoned by the tohunga while the women tied a fractured leg in a splint of totara bark bound with flax. It was addressed to Tiki, the procreator of mortal man.