Landcare Research - Manaaki Whenua

Landcare-Research -Manaaki Whenua

National New Zealand Flax Collection

Manaaki Whenua is kaitiaki of a collection of traditional weaving varieties of harakeke (NZ flax, Phormium spp.) donated by Rene Orchiston of Gisborne.

Harakeke - the Rene Orchiston Collection (3rd Edition)

The 50 harakeke were selected long ago from natural stands and cultivated by Māori weavers for their special leaf and fibre properties. There are varieties specially suited to making kete, whāriki, piupiu and cloaks.

Rene Orchiston Collection Catalogue:

A catalogue of the collection is available in a variety of formats:

Publications

  • Scheele S, Smissen R 2011. DNA fingerprinting reveals identical harakeke varieties. http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biosystematics/plants/harakeke/.
  • Smith GJ, Tang Y, Dyer JM, Scheele SM 2011. Coumarins in Phormium (New Zealand flax) fibers :their role in fluorescence and photodegradation. Photochemistry and photobiology 87(1): 45-50.
  • Scheele S, Smissen R 2010. Insights into the origin and identity of National New Zealand Flax Collection plants from simple sequence repeat (SSR) genotyping. New Zealand journal of botany 48(1): 41 - 54.
  • Harris W, Scheele S, Forrester G, Pahewa E, Te Kanawa K, Murray M 2009. Varietal and environmental influences on the properties of strands prepared from Phormium leaves to make the Maori garment piupiu. New Zealand journal of botany 47: 249-269.
  • Harris W, Scheele SM, Forrester GJ, Kanawa KT, Murray M, Pahewa E 2008. Varietal differences and environmental effects on fibre extracted from Phormium leaves and prepared for traditional Māori weaving. New Zealand Journal of Botany 46(4): 401-423.
  • Smith GJ, Chadwick R, Konese N, Scheele S, Tauwhare SE, Weston RJ 2008. Photodegradation of Phormium tenax fibres: the role of naturally occurring coumarins. In: Hayward M, Kramer E ed. Textiles and Text: Re-establishing the links between archival and object-based research: Postprints. Archetype Publications. Pp. 264-268.
  • Harris W, Scheele SM, Forrester GJ, Murray M, Kanawa KT, Pahewa E 2007. Varietal differences and environmental effects on the characteristics of leaf strips of Phormium prepared for traditional Maori plaiting. New Zealand journal of botany 45(1): 111-137.
  • Tauwhare SEK, Newman RH, Scheele S, Kanawa RT 2006. Chemotaxonomy of Phormium based on sugar-residue analyses of the leaf exudates. New Zealand journal of botany 44(2): 129-133.
  • Harris W, Scheele SM, Forrester GJ 2005. Varietal differences and environmental effects on leaves of Phormium harvested for traditional Maori weaving. New Zealand journal of botany 43(4): 791-816.
  • Newman RH, Tauwhare SEK, Scheele S, Kanawa RT 2005. Leaf-fiber lignins of Phormium varieties compared by solid-state C-13 NMR spectroscopy. Holzforschung 59(2): 147-152.
  • Scheele S 2005. Harakeke : the Rene Orchiston collection. Lincoln, Manaaki Whenua Press. -30 p.
  • McBreen K, Lockhart PJ, McLenachan PA, Scheele S, Robertson AW 2003. The use of molecular techniques to resolve relationships among traditional weaving cultivars of Phormium. New Zealand journal of botany 41: 301-310.
  • Scheele S 2003. Phormium tenax J.R.Forster & G.Forster. In: Brink M, Escobin RP ed. Plant resources of south-east Asia : no.17. Fibre plants. Leiden, Backhuys. Pp. 205-209.
All Publications