See Also: Phormium(medicine)
phormium(dictionary)

phormium (iou)



phormium noun. E19.
[mod. Latin (see below), from Greek phormion dim. of phormos mat, basket, in ref. to the use made of the fibres.]
Either of two tall New Zealand evergreen plants constituting the genus Phormium, of the agave family, which have tough sword-shaped leaves in tufts at the base and panicles of dull red or yellow flowers; esp. New Zealand flax, P. tenax.