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the web of life in southern Africa

Phormium tenax (New Zealand flax)

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) > Monocotyledons > Order: Asparagales > Family: Xanthorrhoeaceae

Native to New Zealand. Cultivated in gardens in southern Africa. Previously placed in the Hemerocallidaceae, which has been sunk under Xanthorrhoeaceae.

Phormium tenax (New Zealand flax) Phormium tenax (New Zealand flax)
Phormium tenax (New Zealand flax)

Phormium tenax in Cape Town garden. [photos H. Robertson, Iziko ©]