Oakura Beach Holiday Park owner Alan Rawlinson has discovered an unusual pattern on a flax bush growing in his backyard.

A Taranaki man is trying to unravel the mystery in the markings after finding something unusual on a flax plant in his garden.

Alan Rawlinson, the owner of the Oakura Beach Holiday Park, said he noticed something odd about a leaf on a flax plant while out in his backyard recently.

The leaf was imprinted with a pattern resembling a crop circle or a carving and was the only leaf on the plant to have these markings.

ANDY JACKSON/Fairfax NZ Oakura Beach Holiday Park owner Alan Rawlinson discovered an unusual pattern on a flax bush growing in his backyard.

"It was about three weeks ago. It was pretty interesting seeing it actually come out from the bottom of the plant. We just thought 'well that's a little bit different' and kept our eye on it for a little while," Rawlinson said.

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"They're very symmetrical actually and I'm not sure exactly how it's made the patterns on there. But they're very definitely symmetrical between the two sides," he said.

ANDY JACKSON/Fairfax NZ Unusual markings on a flax leaf have left many scratching their heads.

Rawlinson said the flax plant had been on the property for around five years, and they had never seen the markings before.

"It'll be interesting if anyone does know anything and we'll wait for someone to tell us exactly what it is and how it happens," Rawlinson said.

Rawlinson said he hadn't done anything different to care for the plant that might have caused the imprint and he had not gone looking to see if there were other leaves on his property with similar indentations.

The find has stumped notable Taranaki gardener Glyn Church who said he had no idea why the leaf bore these markings but was impressed by them.

Landcare Research researcher Rob Smissen said he had seen similar leaves on several occasions and said he thought they were due to an issue with the plant's growth.

"I think that the unusual growth is caused by some sort of physical restriction in the leaf's early development," Smissen said.

"I have found that some bushes, or cultivars, are more prone to it. We do not think it is a disease, just an unusual growth habit." he said.

Smissen said there were a number of selections of flax growing at Landcare's research facility in Lincoln and they did see some bushes get wrinkled leaves when they grew.

"It looks like a matter of mechanical pressure on the shoot when it's growing," Smissen said.

He said that while this didn't seem to happen too often, similar things could be found on most plants.

"With most plant species, if you look long and hard enough, you'll find some developmental irregularities," Smissen said.