Maori name for a species of NewZealand flax. Name used specially in the North Island for thebest variety of Phormium (q.v.).
1845. E. J. Wakefield, `Adventures in New Zealand,' vol. ii.p. 286:
«The species of Phormium tenax thus cultivated isthe tihore, literally the `skinning' flax. This name describesthe ease with which it submits to the scraping process.»