Arawa
| Cultivar No |  |
42 |
|---|---|---|
| Source | |
Rotoiti area. |
| Description | |
Straight, fairly long, medium green blades. Up to 2.5 m tall. Reddish-orange margin and keel. Very high flower heads but seldom flowers. |
| Uses | |
Excellent muka harakeke. The best Mrs Orchiston found for producing long strands of clean fibre with hāro method (stripping with a shell). Good for piupiu because it is so easy to prepare. Especially good for ladies piupiu because of the length although the prepared strips do not dry as strong as other cultivars. When boiled for one minute, it dries to a cream colour. Ideal for whenu and aho in kākahu and for muka kete. |
| Muka extraction |  |
Muka extracts easily and cleanly when cut is made deep enough. When cut is shallow, some leaf matter sticks to fibre and stains it when cleaned off. Para removes effortlessly. Large amount of fibre, strong and coarse. |
| Raranga - unboiled | |
Typical muka flax. Edges constantly fray, whenu easily split. Whenu dry out quickly once softened. |
Information sources:
| Rene Orchiston |
Katarina Tawiri |
 Rob Smissen |
 Sue Scheele |