Thread: Flaxes getting hammered

They're Astelia. In a boggy area it could be swamp Astelia (A. grandis). Or just bush lily (A. fragrans). Hard to tell the two species apart without better photos of a few things.
They are being heavily grazed by deer, how previous posters can't see the fresh growth in the middle has all been cropped, I don't know, but I suggest a new pair of glasses. The heavy tracking and pugging like a stock yard might be a clue too.
The older leaves are avoided by deer and that's what you're seeing remaining here. Deer will only eat this when they're hard up on feed at the end of winter it is not a preferred feed. Shoot more deer in the area.
Photo below blue you can see the tears from grazing of the fresh growth. Yellow is the stem which is getting pretty hammered by trampling too.