One of the problems with trying to get a forest to regrow on St Helena is that all the New Zealand flax
Phormium tenax gets in the way and stops seedlings growing. The flax was bought here as the basis for a fibre industry (see
this post), but has since spread to occupy most of the high peaks. So we've started cutting it down. It isn't easy work. Flax is very fibrous and it takes a lot of effort and sharp tools (we use swords - Saint name for a machete or bush knife) and grubbers to cut the leaf fan off and then dig out the rhizome. Its also usually really muddy and often very steep - and slips are the last things you want when you're holding a razor sharp sword!
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| Hensel (Mackerel) Thomas considering trying to scramble further up a near vertical muddy slope while holding a very sharp sword |
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| Keith Wade making great inroads into flax swamping a black cabbage tree |
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| Keith used to work in the flax mills when he was younger (as did Hensel) and it was a pleasure to watch how they dealt with 10 foot tall flax plants |
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