The Collaborative International Dictionary
Phormium \Phor"mi*um\, n. [NL. fr. Gr. ? a plaited mat, a kind of plant.] (Bot.) A genus of liliaceous plants, consisting of one species ( Phormium tenax). See Flax-plant.
Wiktionary
n. Any liliaceous plant in the (taxlink Phormium genus noshow=1) genus, New Zealand flax.
Wikipedia
Phormium is a genus of two plant species in the Asphodelaceae family. One species is endemic to New Zealand and the other is native to New Zealand and Norfolk Island. The two species are widely known in New Zealand as 'flax' and elsewhere as New Zealand flax or flax lily but are not related to flax which is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and which was used by humans in 30,000 B.C.
Usage examples of "phormium".
The fibre called New Zealand flax, which is procured from the long sword-shaped leaves of Phormium tenax, a liliaceous plant, has been much recommended of late.