When the Maori people first came to New Zealand, they bought the mulberry plant from which they made bark cloth. However, the mulberry did not flourish in the new climate so they found the substitute in the native flax. They used this for baskets, mats and fishing nets and to make intricate fibre ceremonial cloaks. Maori identified almost 60 types of flax, and propagated flax nurseries and plantations to supply the integral material. They chopped the leaves near the base of the flax plant using a sharp mussel shell or shaped rocks. The flesh of the leaf was stripped off right down to the fibre which went through several processes of washing, bleaching, softening, dyeing and drying. Flax ropes and cords had such great strength that they were used to bind together sections of hollowed-out logs to create huge ocean-going canoes, and to provide rigging, sails and lengthy anchor warps for them. It was also used for roofs for housing. The ends of the flax leaves were fanned out to make torches to provide light at night.