Phormium cookianum subsp. hookeri
Common names
mountain flax, wharariki
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Monocots
Flower colours
Green, Yellow
Detailed description
Stout liliaceous herb, 1-1.5(-2) m tall. Leaves numerous, arising from fan-like bases. Individual leaves stiff near base and semi-erect, becoming decurved or pendulous from basal third to half of length, 1(-1.5) x 20-80 mm, olive-green to yellow-green. Lamina margin, entire, somewhat thickened and finely pigmented red, orange-red or black. Inflorescence 1(-2) m tall, somewhat woody and fleshy when fresh, long persistent, drying pale grey, with the fibrous interior becoming progressively more exposed. Peduncle 20-30 mm diam., inclined, red-green to grey-green, glabrous. Flowers 25-40 mm long, tubular, greenish or yellow, sometimes flushed orange; tips of inner tepals markedly recurved. Ovary erect. Capsules 100-200 mm long, dark green, trigonous in cross-section, pendulous, tapering toward tip, twisted, initially fleshy becoming papery with age, long persistent. Seeds 8-10 x 4-5 mm, black, elliptic, flat and plate-like, margins frilled or twisted.
Similar taxa
Distinguished from Phormium tenax by the pendulous, twisted capsules. Differing from subsp. cookianum by the longer, “floppy” uniformly olive green leaves which lack the dark-pigmented band present on the leaf lamina of subsp. cookianum. In the wild this is primarily a plant of cliff faces, boulder fields and talus slopes. It also often grows within grey-scrub. Very rarely it is sympatric with subsp. cookianum.
Distribution
Endemic. Common throughout New Zealand. Local in Northland. And often found inland on cliff faces and exposed rock ledges in the northern part of its range, becoming the dominant coastal flax south of Paekakariki.
Habitat
Common from lowland and coastal areas through montane forest to subalpine habitats, usually but not exclusively on cliff faces and open rocky or boulder-strewn ground.
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – these interim threat classification statuses has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | Not Threatened
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Asphodelaceae
Synonyms
Phormium hookeri Hook.f.
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
(September-) October-November (-January)
Fruiting
(November-) December (-March)
Propagation technique
Very easy from fresh seed. Most commonly grown by the division of rooted “fans” from established plants.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FACU: Facultative Upland
Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Cultivation
Commonly cultivated. Some colour variants and variegated forms are grown, and some garden centres only stock these.
Etymology
phormium: Basket or basketwork
cookianum: After Captain Cook
hookeri: Named after Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (born 1817) - a world famous botanist who travelled on the Antarctic expedition of 1839 under the command of Sir James Ross and wrote “Handbook of New Zealand Flora” published in 1864-67 describing many specimens sent to Kew by collectors. He died in 1911 and has a memorial stone at Westminster Abbey London.
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
PHOHOO
Chromosome number
2n = 32
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Not Threatened
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
Attribution
Fact sheet prepared by P.J. de Lange for NZPCN (1 June 2013)
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Phormium cookianum subsp. hookeri Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/phormium-cookianum-subsp-hookeri/ (Date website was queried)