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Cordyline australis
Also called Cabbage Palm, Palm Lily, New Zealand Cabbagetree, Fountain Dracaena, Giant Dracaena, Grass Palm, Cabbagetree
In Singapore: Red Star Cordyline, Red Star Cabbage Tree (Cultivated in Singapore)
A tall, branched New Zealand tree with sword-shaped leaves that looks like a palm. Hardy southern forms tolerate cold well; it is easy to grow from seed or cuttings.
Cordyline australis, commonly known as the cabbage tree, or by its Māori name of tī or tī kōuka, is a widely branched monocot tree endemic to New Zealand.
It grows up to 20 metres (66 feet) tall with a stout trunk and sword-like leaves, which are clustered at the tips of the branches and can be up to 1 metre (3 feet 3 inches) long. With its tall, straight trunk and dense, rounded heads, the tree is a characteristic feature of the New Zealand landscape. It is common over a wide latitudinal range from the far north of the North Island to the south of the South Island. It grows in a broad range of habitats.
Cordyline australis is one of the most widely cultivated New Zealand native trees. In Northwest Europe and other cool oceanic climates, it is very popular as an ornamental tree because it resembles a palm tree.Hardy forms from the coldest areas of the southern or inland South Island tolerate Northern Hemisphere conditions best, while North Island forms are much more tender. It can also be grown successfully in Mediterranean climates. It is easily grown from fresh seed — seedlings often spontaneously appear in gardens from bird-dispersed seed. It can also be propagated easily from shoot, stem and even trunk cuttings. It does well in pots and tubs.
It grows well as far north as the eastern coast of Scotland, including the village of Portgower. It is more common in Southern England and in Ireland where it is grown all over the island. Although not a palm, it is considered a "pseudo-palm", and is locally named the Cornish palm, Manx palm or Torbay palm.
Palm lily · Tiplant · Giant palm-lily · Dwarf Palm Lily · Broad Leaved Palm Lily · Red Palm Liliy · Narrow Leaf Palm Lily · Cordyline
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cordyline australis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
