Cabbage Tree (Cordyline Australis)
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''Cordyline australis'', commonly known as the cabbage tree, tī kōuka or cabbage-palm, is a widely branched
monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one of ...
tree
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to New Zealand. It grows up to tall with a stout trunk and sword-like leaves, which are clustered at the tips of the branches and can be up to long. With its tall, straight trunk and dense, rounded heads, it is a characteristic feature of the New Zealand landscape. Its fruit is a favourite food source for the
kererū The kererū (''Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae'') or New Zealand pigeon is a species of pigeon native to New Zealand. Johann Friedrich Gmelin described the bird in 1789 as a large, conspicuous pigeon up to in length and in weight, with a white br ...
and other native birds. It is common over a wide latitudinal range from the far north of the
North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
at 34° 25′S to the south of the
South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
at 46° 30′S. Absent from much of
Fiordland Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes, ...
, it was probably introduced by
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
to the
Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about te ...
at 44° 00′S and to
Stewart Island / Rakiura Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...
at 46° 50′S. It grows in a broad range of
habitats In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
, including forest margins, river banks and open places, and is abundant near swamps. The largest known tree with a single trunk is growing at Pakawau,
Golden Bay / Mohua Golden Bay / Mohua is a shallow, paraboloid-shaped bay in New Zealand, near the northern tip of the South Island. An arm of the Tasman Sea, the bay lies northwest of Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere and Cook Strait. It is protected in the north by ...
. It is estimated to be 400 or 500 years old, and stands tall with a circumference of at the base. Known to Māori as , the tree was used as a source of food, particularly in the South Island, where it was cultivated in areas where other crops would not grow. It provided durable
fibre Fiber or fibre (from la, fibra, links=no) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate ...
for
textiles Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
, anchor ropes, fishing lines, baskets, waterproof rain capes and cloaks, and sandals. Hardy and fast growing, it is widely planted in New Zealand gardens, parks and streets, and numerous
cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...
s are available. The tree can also be found in large numbers in
island restoration The ecological restoration of islands, or island restoration, is the application of the principles of ecological restoration to islands and island groups. Islands, due to their isolation, are home to many of the world's endemic species, as well as ...
projects such as
Tiritiri Matangi Island Tiritiri Matangi Island is located in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand, east of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula in the North Island and north east of Auckland. The island is an open nature reserve managed by the Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi Incorpo ...
, where it was among the first seedling trees to be planted. It is also grown as an ornamental tree in higher latitude
Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
countries with maritime climates, including parts of the upper West Coast of the United States, Canada and the
British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
, where its common names include Torbay palm and Torquay palm. It does not do well in hot tropical climates like the Caribbean, Queensland, Southeast Asia or Florida.


Description

''Cordyline australis'' grows up to tall with a stout trunk in diameter. Before it flowers, it has a slender unbranched stem. The first flowers typically appear at 6 to 10 years old, in spring. The right conditions can reduce the first flowering age to 3 years (Havelock North, 2015 mast year). After the first flowering, it divides to form a much-branched crown with tufts of leaves at the tips of the branches. Each branch may fork after producing a flowering stem. The pale to dark grey bark is corky, persistent and fissured, and feels spongy to the touch. The long narrow leaves are sword-shaped, erect, dark to light green, long and wide at the base, with numerous parallel veins. The leaves grow in crowded clusters at the ends of the branches, and may droop slightly at the tips and bend down from the bases when old. They are thick and have an indistinct
midrib This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...
. The fine nerves are more or less equal and parallel. The upper and lower leaf surfaces are similar. In spring and early summer, sweetly perfumed flowers are produced in large, dense
panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...
s (flower spikes) long, bearing well-spaced to somewhat crowded, almost
sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...
to sessile flowers and axes. The flowers are crowded along the ultimate branches of the panicles. The
bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...
s which protect the developing flowers often have a distinct pink tinge before the flowers open. In south
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...
and
North Otago North Otago in New Zealand covers the area of Otago between Shag Point and the Waitaki River, and extends inland to the west as far as the village of Omarama (which has experienced rapid growth as a developing centre for astronomy and for glid ...
the bracts are green. The individual flowers are in diameter, the
tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...
s are free almost to the base, and reflexed. The
stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
s are about the same length as the tepals. The stigmas are short and trifid. The fruit is a white berry in diameter which is greedily eaten by birds. The nectar attracts great numbers of insects to the flowers. Large, peg-like
rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...
s, covered with soft, purplish bark, up to long in old plants, grow vertically down beneath the ground. They serve to anchor the plant and to store
fructose Fructose, or fruit sugar, is a Ketose, ketonic monosaccharide, simple sugar found in many plants, where it is often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose. It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with glucose and galacto ...
in the form of
fructan A fructan is a polymer of fructose molecules. Fructans with a short chain length are known as fructooligosaccharides. Fructans can be found in over 12% of the angiosperms including both monocots and dicots such as agave, artichokes, asparagus, leek ...
. When young, the rhizomes are mostly fleshy and are made up of thin-walled storage cells. They grow from a layer called the secondary thickening
meristem The meristem is a type of tissue found in plants. It consists of undifferentiated cells (meristematic cells) capable of cell division. Cells in the meristem can develop into all the other tissues and organs that occur in plants. These cells conti ...
.


Regional diversity

New Zealand's native ''Cordyline'' species are relics of an influx of tropical plants that arrived from the north 15 million years ago in the warm
Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
era. Because it has evolved in response to the local climate, geology and other factors, ''C. australis'' varies in appearance from place to place. This variation can alter the overall appearance of the tree, canopy shape and branch size, the relative shape and size of the leaves, and their colour and stiffness. There may also be invisible adaptations for resistance to disease or insect attack. Some of these regional provenances are different enough to have been named by North Island Māori: in the north, in the central uplands, in the east and in the west. In Northland, ''C. australis'' shows a great deal of genetic diversity—suggesting it is where old genetic lines have endured. Some trees in the far north have floppy, narrow leaves, which botanist Philip Simpson attributes to hybridisation with '' C. pumilio'', the dwarf cabbage tree. In eastern Northland, ''C. australis'' generally has narrow, straight dark green leaves, but some trees have much broader leaves than normal and may have hybridised with the Three Kings cabbage tree, ''C. obtecta'', which grows at North Cape and on nearby islands. These ''obtecta''-like characteristics appear in populations of ''C. australis'' along parts of the eastern coastline from the
Karikari Peninsula The Karikari Peninsula on the east coast of the far north of Northland, New Zealand, is between Rangaunu Harbour to the west, and Doubtless Bay to the southeast. It is a right-angled land mass of two relatively distinct parts. The rocky northe ...
to the
Coromandel Peninsula The Coromandel Peninsula ( mi, Te Tara-O-Te-Ika-A-Māui) on the North Island of New Zealand extends north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the we ...
. In western Northland and
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, a form often called grows. When young, are generally very spindly, and are common in young
kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of 22 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient conifer family Araucariaceae, a group once widespread during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but now largely res ...
forests. When growing in the open, can become massive trees with numerous, long thin branches and relatively short, broad leaves. In the central Volcanic Plateau, cabbage trees are tall, with stout, relatively unbranched stems and large stiff straight leaves. Fine specimens are found along the upper
Whanganui River The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natura ...
. On old trees, the leaves tend to be relatively broad. The leaves radiate strongly, suggesting that tī manu is adapted to the cold winters of the upland central plateau. It may have originated in the open country created by
lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...
,
volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcano, volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used t ...
, and
pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of highly vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicular vol ...
. Trees of the tī manu type are also found in northern
Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...
, the
King Country The King Country (Māori: ''Te Rohe Pōtae'' or ''Rohe Pōtae o Maniapoto'') is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from the Kawhia Harbour and the town of Otorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of ...
and the
Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...
lowlands. Tarariki are found in the east of the North Island from
East Cape East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is located at the northern end of the Gisborne District of New Zealand's North Island. It can also refer to the broader Gisborne cape. East Cape was originally named "C ...
to the
Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...
. Māori valued the narrow spiky leaves as a source of particularly tough, durable fibre. Tarariki's strong leaf fibres may be an adaptation to the region's hot, dry summers. In parts of the Wairarapa, the trees are particularly spiky, with stiff leaves and partially rolled leaf-blades. The trees near East Cape, by contrast, have leaves that hang laxly on the tree. In
Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...
, some trees have greener, broader leaves, and this may be because of wharanui characteristics brought in across the main divide through the
Manawatū Gorge The Manawatū Gorge () is a steep-sided gorge formed by the Manawatū River in the North Island of New Zealand. At long, the Manawatū Gorge divides the Ruahine Ranges, Ruahine and Tararua Ranges, linking the Manawatū-Whanganui, Manawatū and Tar ...
. Wharanui grow to the west of the North Island's main divide. They have long, broad flaccid leaves, which may be an adaptation to persistent westerly winds. The wharanui type occurs in
Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
,
Horowhenua Horowhenua District is a territorial authority district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand, administered by Horowhenua District Council. Located north of Wellington and Kapiti, it stretches from slightly north of the town of ...
and
Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...
, and extends with some modifications to the southern
Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...
coast. In Taranaki, cabbage trees generally have a compact canopy with broad straight leaves. In the South Island, wharanui is the most common form, but it is variable. The typical form grows, with little variation, from
Cape Campbell Cape Campbell, ''Te Karaka'' in the Māori language, is in Marlborough, New Zealand, on the northeastern coast of the South Island. It lies at the southern end of Clifford Bay, northeast of Ward, and southeast of Blenheim. Cape Campbell lies ...
to the northern
Catlins The Catlins (sometimes referred to as The Catlins Coast) comprises an area in the southeastern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The area lies between Balclutha and Invercargill, straddling the boundary between the Otago and Southlan ...
, and from the eastern coast to the foothills of the
Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...
. In
Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...
's
Wairau Valley Wairau Valley is the valley of the Wairau River in Marlborough Region, Marlborough, New Zealand and also the name of the main settlement in the upper valley. New Zealand State Highway 63, State Highway 63 runs through the valley. The valley open ...
, cabbage trees tend to retain their old, dead leaves, lending them an untidy appearance. The climate there is an extreme one, with hot, dry summers and cold winters. In north-west
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
, there are three
ecotype In evolutionary ecology, an ecotype,Greek: ''οίκος'' = home and ''τύπος'' = type, coined by Göte Turesson in 1922 sometimes called ecospecies, describes a genetically distinct geographic variety, population, or race within a species, ...
s defined by soil and exposure. Trees growing on limestone bluffs have stiff, blue-green leaves. On the river flats, the trees are tall with narrow, lax, dark green leaves, and an uneven canopy. They resemble the cabbage trees of the North Island's East Cape. Along the coast to the far west, the trees are robust with broad, bluish leaves. The latter two forms extend down the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...
, with the lax-leaved forms growing in moist, fertile, sheltered river valleys while the bluish-leaved forms prefer rocky slopes exposed to the full force of the salt-laden coastal winds. In
Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
, cabbage trees gradually become less common towards the south until they come to an end in the northern Catlins. They reappear on the south coast at Waikawa, Southland, but they are not the wharanui type. Rather they are vigorous trees with broad, green leaves and broad canopies. They extend along the coast towards
Fiordland Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes, ...
, and inland to the margins of some of the
glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...
-fed lakes. Very vigorous when they are young, these trees seem well adapted to the very cold winters of the south. A study of seedlings grown from seed collected in 28 areas showed a north-south change in leaf shape and dimensions. Seedling leaves get longer and narrower southwards. Seedlings often have leaves with red-brown pigmentation which disappears in older plants, and this coloration becomes increasingly common towards the south. The changes in shape—leaves getting narrower and more robust from north to south and from lowland to
montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...
—suggest adaptations to colder weather.


Taxonomy and names

''Cordyline australis'' was collected in 1769 by
Sir Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James C ...
and Dr Daniel Solander, naturalists on the '' Endeavour'' during Lieutenant
James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
's first voyage to the
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. The type locality is
Queen Charlotte Sound / Tōtaranui Queen Charlotte Sound / Tōtaranui is the easternmost of the main sounds of the Marlborough Sounds, in New Zealand's South Island. In 2014, the sound was given the official name of Queen Charlotte Sound / Tōtaranui as part of a Waitangi Tribu ...
. It was named ''Dracaena australis'' by
Georg Forster Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (, 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father, Johann Reinhold F ...
who published it as entry 151 in his ''Florulae Insularum Australium Prodromus'' of 1786. It is sometimes still sold as a '' Dracaena'', particularly for the house plant market in Northern Hemisphere countries. In 1833,
Stephan Endlicher Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher also known as Endlicher István László (24 June 1804, Bratislava (Pozsony) – 28 March 1849, Vienna) was an Austrian botanist, numismatist and Sinologist. He was a director of the Botanical Garden of Vienna. Bio ...
reassigned the species to the genus,''
Cordyline ''Cordyline'' is a genus of about 15 species of woody monocotyledonous flowering plants in family Asparagaceae, subfamily Lomandroideae. The subfamily has previously been treated as a separate family Laxmanniaceae, or Lomandraceae. Other authors ...
''. The genus name ''Cordyline'' derives from an
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
word for a club (''kordyle''), a reference to the enlarged underground stems or
rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...
s, while the species name ''australis'' is
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for "southern". The common name ''cabbage tree'' is attributed by some sources to early settlers having used the young leaves as a substitute for cabbage. However the name probably predates the settlement of New Zealand — Georg Forster, writing in his '' Voyage round the World'' of 1777 about the events of Friday, April 23, 1773, refers on page 114 to the discovery of a related species in
Fiordland Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes, ...
as "not the true cabbage palm" and says "the central shoot, when quite tender, tastes something like an almond's kernel, with a little of the flavour of cabbage." Forster may have been referring to the
cabbage palmetto ''Sabal palmetto'' (, '' SAY-bəl''), also known as cabbage palm, cabbage palmetto, sabal palm, blue palmetto, Carolina palmetto, common palmetto, Garfield's tree, and swamp cabbage, is one of 15 species of palmetto palm. It is native to the So ...
(''Sabal palmetto'') of Florida, which resembles the Cordyline somewhat, and was named for the cabbage-like appearance of its terminal bud. ''Cordyline australis'' is the tallest of New Zealand's five native ''Cordyline'' species. Of these, the commonest are '' C. banksii'', which has a slender, sweeping trunk, and '' C. indivisa'', a handsome plant with a trunk up to tall bearing a massive head of broad leaves up to long. In the far north of New Zealand, ''C. australis'' can be distinguished by its larger heavily branched tree form, narrower leaves and smaller seeds from '' C. obtecta'', the Three Kings cabbage tree, its closest relative. ''C. australis'' is rather variable, and forms from the northern offshore islands may be hybrids with ''C. obtecta''. Hybrids with '' C. pumilio'' and ''C. banksii'' also occur often where the plants are in close vicinity, because they flower at about the same time and share the
chromosome number Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...
2n=38, with ''C. australis''. The tree was well known to
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
before its scientific discovery. The generic
Māori language Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...
term for plants in the genus ''Cordyline'' is ''tī'', cognate with Tongan ''sī'' and Hawaiian ''kī'' (from
Proto-Austronesian Proto-Austronesian (commonly abbreviated as PAN or PAn) is a proto-language. It is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austronesian languages, one of the world's major language families. Proto-Austronesian is assumed to have begun to diversify 3 ...
*''siRi'', ''C. fruticosa'' or ''C. terminalis''). Names recorded as specific to ''C. australis'' include ''tī kōuka'', ''tī kāuka'', ''tī rākau'', ''tī awe'', ''tī pua'', and ''tī whanake''. Each tribe had names for the tree depending on its local uses and characteristics. Simpson reports that the names highlight the characteristics of the tree that were important to Māori. These include what the plant looked like—whether it was a large tree (''tī rākau'', ''tī pua''), the whiteness of its flowers (''tī puatea''), whether its leaves were broad (''tī wharanui''), twisted along the edges (''tī tahanui''), or spiky (''tī tarariki''). Other names refer to its uses—whether its fruit attracted birds (''tī manu''), or the leaves were particularly suitable for making ropes (''tī whanake'') and nets (''tī kupenga''). The most widely used name, ''tī kōuka'', refers to the use of the leaf hearts as food.


Ecology


Habitat

A quote from Philip Simpson sums up the wide range of habitats the cabbage tree occupied in early New Zealand, and how much its abundance and distinctive form shaped the impression travellers received of the country:
"In primeval New Zealand cabbage trees occupied a range of habitats, anywhere open, moist, fertile and warm enough for them to establish and mature: with forest; around the rocky coast; in lowland swamps, around the lakes and along the lower rivers; and perched on isolated rocks. Approaching the land from the sea would have reminded a Polynesian traveller of home, and for a European traveller, conjured up images of the tropical Pacific".
''Cordyline australis'' occurs from North Cape to the very south of the South Island, where it becomes less and less common, until it reaches its southernmost natural limits at Sandy Point (46° 30' S), west of
Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...
near
Oreti Beach Oreti Beach is the central bay of three lying on the Foveaux Strait coast of Southland, New Zealand, the others being Te Waewae Bay and Toetoes Bay. Twenty-six kilometres in length, the bay lies between the town of Riverton and the outflow of the ...
. It is absent from much of Fiordland, probably because there is no suitable habitat, and is unknown on the subantarctic islands to the south of New Zealand, probably because it is too cold. It occurs on some offshore islands— Poor Knights, Stewart and the Chathams—but was probably introduced by Māori. In the Stewart Island region, it is rare, growing only on certain islands, headlands and former settlement sites where it may have been introduced by muttonbird collectors, while on the Chatham Islands it is also largely "a notable absentee". Generally a lowland species, it grows from sea level to about , reaching its upper limits on the volcanoes of the central North Island, where eruptions have created open spaces for it to exploit, and in the foothills of the Southern Alps in the South Island, where deforestation may have played a part in giving it room to grow. In the central North Island, it has evolved a much sturdier form (with the
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
name ''tī manu'', meaning "with branches bearing broad, straight upright leaves"). This form resembles that found in the far south of the South Island, suggesting that they are both adapted to cold conditions. ''Cordyline australis'' is a light-demanding pioneer species, and seedlings die when overtopped by other trees. To grow well, young plants require open space so they are not shaded out by other vegetation. Another requirement is water during the seedling stage. Although adult trees can store water and are drought resistant, seedlings need a good supply of water to survive. This stops the species from growing in sand dunes unless there are wet depressions present, and from hillsides unless there is a seepage area. The fertility of the soil is another factor—settlers in Canterbury used the presence of the species to situate their homesteads and gardens. The fallen leaves of the tree also help to raise the fertility of the soil when they break down. Another factor is temperature, especially the degree of frost. Young trees are killed by frost, and even old trees can be cut back. This is why ''C. australis'' is absent from upland areas and from very frosty inland areas. Early European explorers of New Zealand described "jungles of cabbage trees" along the banks of streams and rivers, in huge swamps and lowland valleys. Few examples of this former abundance survive today—such areas were the first to be cleared by farmers looking for flat land and fertile soil. In modern New Zealand, cabbage trees usually grow as isolated individuals rather than as parts of a healthy ecosystem.


Reproduction

The cabbage tree's year begins in autumn among the tight spike of unopened leaves projecting from the centre of each tuft of leaves. Some of the growing tips have changed from making leaves to producing
inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
s for the coming spring, and around these, two or three buds begin to produce leaves. The inflorescence and the leaf buds pass the winter protected by the enveloping spike of unopened leaves. Months later in spring or early summer, it bears its flowers on the outside of the tree, exposed to insects and birds. Flowering takes place over a period of four to six weeks, giving maximum exposure to pollinating insects. The flowers produce a sweet perfume which attracts large numbers of insects. The nectar produced by the flowers contains aromatic compounds, mainly
ester In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an oxoacid (organic or inorganic) in which at least one hydroxyl group () is replaced by an alkoxy group (), as in the substitution reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glycerides ar ...
s and
terpene Terpenes () are a class of natural products consisting of compounds with the formula (C5H8)n for n > 1. Comprising more than 30,000 compounds, these unsaturated hydrocarbons are produced predominantly by plants, particularly conifers. Terpenes ar ...
s, which are particularly attractive to moths. Bees use the nectar to produce a light honey to feed their young and increase the size of the hive in the early summer. It takes about two months for the fruit to ripen, and by the end of summer a cabbage tree can have thousands of small fruits available for birds to eat and disperse. The strong framework of the inflorescence can easily bear the weight of heavy birds like the New Zealand pigeon, which was formerly the major disperser of the seeds. Each fruit contains three to six shiny, black seeds which are coated in a charcoal-like substance called phytomelan. The latter may serve to protect the seeds from the digestive process in the gut of a bird. The seeds are also rich in
linoleic acid Linoleic acid (LA) is an organic compound with the formula COOH(CH2)7CH=CHCH2CH=CH(CH2)4CH3. Both alkene groups are cis-trans isomerism, ''cis''. It is a fatty acid sometimes denoted 18:2 (n-6) or 18:2 ''cis''-9,12. A linoleate is a salt (chem ...
as a food source for the developing embryo plant, a compound which is also important in the egg-laying cycle of birds. Because it takes about two years for a particular stem to produce an inflorescence, cabbage trees tend to flower heavily in alternative years, with a bumper flowering every three to five years. Each inflorescence bears 5,000 to 10,000 flowers, so a large inflorescence may carry about 40,000 seeds, or one million seeds for the whole tree in a good flowering year—hundreds of millions for a healthy grove of trees.


Response to fire

''Cordyline australis'' is one of the few New Zealand forest trees that can recover from fire. It can renew its trunk from buds on the protected rhizomes under the ground. This gives the tree an advantage because it can regenerate itself quickly and the fire has eliminated competing plants. Cabbage tree leaves contain oils which make them burn readily. The same oils may also slow down the decay of fallen leaves, so that they build up a dense mat that prevents the seeds of other plants from germinating. When the leaves do break down, they form a fertile soil around the tree. Cabbage tree seed also has a store of oil, which means it remains viable for several years. When a bushfire has cleared the land of vegetation, cabbage tree seeds germinate in great numbers to make the most of the light and space opened up by the flames. Older trees sometimes grow
epicormic shoot An epicormic shoot is a shoot growing from an epicormic bud, which lies underneath the bark of a trunk, stem, or branch of a plant. Epicormic buds lie dormant beneath the bark, their growth suppressed by hormones from active shoots higher up ...
s directly from their trunks after storm or fire damage. Aerial rhizomes can also be produced from the trunk if it sustains damage or has become hollow, and grow down into the soil to regenerate the plant. Such regeneration can lead to trees of great age with multiple trunks.


Biodiversity

Many plants and animals are associated with ''C. australis'' in healthy ecosystems. The most common
epiphyte An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...
s are ferns, astelias and orchids. Old trees often carry large clumps of the climbing fern ''
Asplenium ''Asplenium'' is a genus of about 700 species of ferns, often treated as the only genus in the family Aspleniaceae, though other authors consider ''Hymenasplenium'' separate, based on molecular phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences, a different ...
'', and in moist places, filmy ferns and kidney ferns cling to the branches. ''
Astelia ''Astelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the recently named family Asteliaceae. They are rhizomatous tufted perennials native to various islands in the Pacific, Indian, and South Atlantic Oceans, as well as to Australia and to the southern ...
'' species and '' Collospermum'' often establish in the main fork of the tree, and one tree can host several species of native orchid. Other common epiphytes include ''
Griselinia lucida ''Griselinia lucida'', commonly known as puka, akapuka or shining broadleaf, is an epiphytic plant native to New Zealand. ''G. lucida'' naturally occurs in wet lowland-forests and open or rocky coastal environments mostly in the North Island of N ...
'', as well as a range of mosses, liverworts, lichens and fungi. Two fungus species which infect living tissue—'' Phanaerochaeta cordylines'' and '' Sphaeropsis cordylines''—occur almost exclusively on ''C. australis''. Animals and birds associated with ''C. australis'' include lizards which forage among the flowers, including the gold-striped gecko which is well camouflaged for life among the leaves of the tree.
New Zealand bellbird The New Zealand bellbird (''Anthornis melanura''), also known by its Māori names korimako, makomako, and kōmako, is a passerine bird endemic to New Zealand. It has greenish colouration and is the only living member of the genus ''Anthornis''. T ...
s like to nest under the dead leaves or among the flower stalks, and
paradise shelduck The paradise shelduck (''Tadorna variegata''), also known as the paradise duck, or in Māori, is a species of shelduck, a group of goose-like ducks, which is endemic to New Zealand. Johann Friedrich Gmelin placed it in the genus ''Anas'' with ...
s commonly build their nests in the base of an old cabbage tree standing in the middle of a field.
Red-crowned parakeet The red-crowned parakeet (''Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae''), also known as red-fronted parakeet and by its Māori name of kākāriki,Parr, M., Juniper, T., D'Silva, C., Powell, D., Johnston, D., Franklin, K., & Restall, R. (2010). Parrots: A Guid ...
s are often seen foraging in cabbage trees. In South Canterbury, long-tailed bats shelter during the day in the hollow branches, which would once have provided nesting holes for many birds. The berries of ''C. australis'' are enjoyed by bellbirds,
tūī The tūī (''Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae'') is a boisterous medium-sized bird native to New Zealand. It is blue, green, and bronze colored with a distinctive white throat tuft. It is an endemic passerine bird of New Zealand, and the only spe ...
, and
kererū The kererū (''Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae'') or New Zealand pigeon is a species of pigeon native to New Zealand. Johann Friedrich Gmelin described the bird in 1789 as a large, conspicuous pigeon up to in length and in weight, with a white br ...
. Māori sometimes planted groves of cabbage trees () to attract kererū which could be snared when they came to eat the berries. Reminiscing in 1903 about life in New Zealand sixty or more years earlier, George Clarke describes how such a tapu grove of cabbage trees would attract huge numbers of pigeons: "About four miles from our house, there was a great preserve of wood pigeons, that was made as tapu as the native chiefs could devise. At a certain season, the pigeons came in vast flocks to feed on the white berries of the Ti tree (bracœna) icand got so heavy with fat that they could hardly fly from one tree to another. No gun was allowed in the place. The Maoris, with a long slender rod and a slip noose at the end, squatted under the leaves and noiselessly slipped the noose over the necks of the stupid pigeons as they were feeding." As the native birds have vanished from much of New Zealand with the clearing of forests, it is now flocks of
starling Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus ''Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, ...
s which descend upon the fruit. The nectar of the flowers is sought after by insects, bellbirds, tūī, and
stitchbird The stitchbird or hihi (''Notiomystis cincta'') is a honeyeater-like bird endemic to the North Island and adjacent offshore islands of New Zealand. Its evolutionary relationships have long puzzled ornithologists, but it is now classed as the ...
s. The leaves and the rough bark provide excellent homes for insects such as caterpillars and moths, small beetles, fly larvae,
wētā Wētā (also spelt weta) is the common name for a group of about 100 insect species in the families Anostostomatidae and Rhaphidophoridae endemic to New Zealand. They are giant flightless crickets, and some are among the heaviest insects in th ...
, snails and slugs. Many of these are then eaten by birds such as saddlebacks and robins. The rough bark also provides opportunities for epiphytes to cling and grow, and lizards hide amongst the dead leaves, coming out to drink the nectar and to eat the insects. Good flowering seasons occur every few years only. While it is said that they foretell dry summers, it has been observed that they tend to follow dry seasons. Insects, including beetles, moths, wasps and flies, use the bark, leaves and flowers of the tree in various ways. Some feed or hide camouflaged in the skirt of dead leaves, a favourite dry place for wētā to hide in winter. Many of the insect companions of the tree have followed it into the domesticated surroundings of parks and home gardens. If the leaves are left to decay, the soil underneath cabbage trees becomes a black humus that supports a rich array of amphipods, earthworms and millipedes. There are nine species of insect only found on ''C. australis'', of which the best known is '' Epiphryne verriculata'', the cabbage tree moth, which is perfectly adapted to hide on a dead leaf. Its caterpillars eat large holes and wedges in the leaves. The moth lays its eggs at the base of the central spike of unopened leaves. The caterpillars eat holes in the surface of the leaves and leave characteristic notches in the leaf margins. They can infest young trees but seldom damage older trees, which lack the skirt of dead leaves where the parent moths like to hide.


Threats, pests and diseases


Sudden decline

Cases of sick and dying trees of ''C. australis'' were first reported in the northern part of the North Island in 1987. The syndrome, eventually called Sudden Decline, soon reached epidemic proportions in Northland and Auckland. Affected trees usually suffer total defoliation within 2 to 12 months. The foliage turns yellow, and the oldest leaves wither and fall off. Growth of leaves ceases, and eventually all the leaves fall, leaving dead branches, often with the dried-out flowering panicles still attached. At the same time, the bark on the trunk becomes loose and detaches easily. The greatest number of dead trees (18 to 26 percent) was recorded around Auckland. For some years, the cause of the disease was unknown, and hypotheses included tree ageing, fungi, viruses, and environmental factors such as an increase in ultra-violet light. Another hypothesis was that a genetic problem may have been induced in Northland and Auckland by the thousands of cabbage trees brought into the area from elsewhere and planted in gardens and parks. The Lands and Survey Department had a native plant nursery at Taupo in the central North Island, which was used to grow plants for use in parks, reserves and carparks. In many Northland parks, cabbage trees from the central North Island were growing and flowering within metres of natural forms. Any offspring produced might have been poorly adapted to local conditions. After nearly five years of work, scientists found the cause was a bacterium ''
Phytoplasma australiense Phytoplasmas are obligate intracellular parasites of plant phloem tissue and of the insect Vector (epidemiology), vectors that are involved in their plant-to-plant transmission. Phytoplasmas were discovered in 1967 by Japanese scientists who term ...
'', which may be spread from tree to tree by a tiny sap-sucking insect, the introduced passion vine hopper. Populations of ''C. australis'' were decimated in some parts of New Zealand because of Sudden Decline. In some areas, particularly in the north, no big trees are left. Although Sudden Decline often affects cabbage trees in farmland and open areas, trees in natural forest patches continue to do well. Trees in the southern North Island and northern South Island are generally unaffected with few dead branches and no symptoms of Sudden Decline. By 2010, there was evidence to suggest the severity of the disease was lessening.


Rural decline

The plight of ''Cordyline australis'' in the Sudden Decline epidemic drew attention to another widespread threat to the tree in rural areas throughout New Zealand. Rural Decline was the name proposed by botanists to refer to a decline in health of older trees in pasture and grazed shrubland, leading over many years to the loss of upper branches and eventual death. Often farmers would leave a solitary cabbage tree—or even groves of trees—standing after the swamps were drained. Most of these trees will slowly die out because livestock eat the seedlings and damage the trunks and roots of adult trees. When a cabbage tree is the only shade in a field, stock will shelter underneath it, damaging the bark by rubbing against it, and compacting the soil around the tree. Cows, sheep, goats, and deer eat the nutritious tissue under the bark of cabbage trees. Once the trunk has been damaged by animals, it seldom heals and the wounds get bigger over time. Eventually the tissue in the centre of the stem rots away and a cavity forms along its entire length. The trunk becomes misshapen or completely ring-barked for a metre above the ground. Often the growth layer dies and the injuries may lead to bacterial or fungal infections that spread into the branches until the canopy too begins to die. Other factors thought to contribute to Rural Decline include wood-rotting fungi like ''Phanerochaete cordylines'', micro-organisms which cause saprobic decay and leaf-feeding caterpillars. Other mammals can be destructive.
Possums Possum may refer to: Animals * Phalangeriformes, or possums, any of a number of arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi ** Common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula''), a common possum in Australian urban a ...
tend not to eat the leaves of the tree, but are very fond of eating the sugar-rich flowering stalks as they emerge. They also like using the tree as a sleeping place. Rabbits can be more destructive, especially during periods of drought, when they have been seen to eat through the base until a tree falls, and then eating the fallen tree completely. Horses can also fell a tree by eating through the trunk.


Māori cultural uses

In traditional times, Māori had a rich knowledge of the cabbage tree, including spiritual, ecological and many practical aspects of its use. While much of that specialised knowledge was lost after the European settlement of New Zealand, the use of the tree as food and medicine has persisted, and the use of its fibres for weaving is becoming more common.


Food

The stems and fleshy rhizomes of ''C. australis'' are high in natural sugars and were steam-cooked in
earth oven An earth oven, ground oven or cooking pit is one of the simplest and most ancient cooking structures. At its most basic, an earth oven is a pit in the ground used to trap heat and bake, smoke, or steam food. Earth ovens have been used in many pl ...
s (''umu tī'', a large type of '' hāngi'') to produce ''kāuru'', a carbohydrate-rich food used to sweeten other foods. The growing tips or leaf hearts were stripped of leaves and eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable, when they were called ''kōuka''—the origin of the Māori name of the tree. The southern limit of
kūmara The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young shoot ...
(sweet potato) cultivation was at
Banks Peninsula Banks Peninsula is a peninsula of volcanic origin on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an area of approximately and encompasses two large harbours and many smaller bays and coves. The South Island's largest cit ...
at 43°S, and south of there a culture developed around ''C. australis''. Natural and planted groves of the cabbage tree were harvested. Large parties trimmed the cut stems, and left them to dry for days or weeks. As well as stems, the rhizomes—extensions of the trunk below the surface of the ground shaped like enormous carrots—were also dug up to be cooked. In the early 1840s, Edward Shortland said Māori preferred rhizomes from trees growing in deep rich soil. They dug them in spring or early summer just before the flowering of the plant, when they were at their sweetest. November was the favourite month for preparing kāuru in the South Island. After drying, the harvested stems or rhizomes were steamed for 24 hours or more in the umu tī pit. Steaming converted the carbohydrate
fructan A fructan is a polymer of fructose molecules. Fructans with a short chain length are known as fructooligosaccharides. Fructans can be found in over 12% of the angiosperms including both monocots and dicots such as agave, artichokes, asparagus, leek ...
in the stems to very sweet
fructose Fructose, or fruit sugar, is a Ketose, ketonic monosaccharide, simple sugar found in many plants, where it is often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose. It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with glucose and galacto ...
. The cooked stems or rhizomes were then flattened by beating and carried back to villages for storage. Kāuru could be stored dry until the time came to add it to fern root and other foods to improve their palatability. The sugar in the stems or rhizomes would be partially crystallised, and could be found mixed in a sugary pulp with other matter between the fibres of the root, which were easily separated by tearing them apart. Kāuru could also be dipped in water and chewed, and was said to smell and taste like
molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...
. Evidence of large cooking pits (umu tī) can still be found in the hills of
South Canterbury South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the Souther ...
and
North Otago North Otago in New Zealand covers the area of Otago between Shag Point and the Waitaki River, and extends inland to the west as far as the village of Omarama (which has experienced rapid growth as a developing centre for astronomy and for glid ...
, where large groves of cabbage trees still stand. Europeans used the plant to make alcohol, and the often fearsome brews were relished by whalers and sealers. The kōata, the growing tip of the plant, was eaten raw as medicine. When cooked, it was called the kōuka. If the spike of unopened leaves and a few outer leaves is gripped firmly at the base and bent, it will snap off. The leaves can be removed, and what remains is like a small artichoke heart that can be steamed, roasted or boiled to make kōuka, a bitter vegetable available at any time of the year. Kōuka is delicious as a relish with fatty foods like eel, muttonbirds, or pigeons, or in modern times, pork, mutton and beef. Different trees were selected for their degree of bitterness, which should be strong for medicinal use, but less so when used as a vegetable.


Fibre

A tough fibre was extracted from the leaves of ''C. australis'', and was valued for its strength and durability especially in seawater. The leaves are suitable for weaving in its raw state, without any need to further process the fibres. The leaves were used for making anchor ropes and fishing lines, cooking mats, baskets, sandals and leggings for protection when travelling in the South Island high country, home of the prickly speargrasses (''
Aciphylla ''Aciphylla'' is a genus of about 40 species of plants in the family Apiaceae, endemic to New Zealand and Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of ...
'') and tūmatakuru or matagouri (''
Discaria toumatou ''Discaria toumatou'', commonly called matagouri, tūmatakuru or wild Irishman, is a tangle-branched thorny plant endemic to New Zealand. Matagouri is a tangle-branched, extremely thorny, divaricating shrub or small tree up to five metres t ...
''). Because of the water-resistant properties of the plant, the leaves were traditionally used for cooking baskets. Morere swings provided a source of amusement for Māori children. The ropes had to be strong, so they were often made from the leaves or fibre of ''C. australis'', which were much tougher than the fibres of
New Zealand flax New Zealand flax describes the common New Zealand perennial plants ''Phormium tenax'' and ''Phormium colensoi'', known by the Māori names ''harakeke'' and ''wharariki'' respectively. Although given the common name 'flax' they are quite distinc ...
. The leaves were also used for rain capes, although the mountain cabbage tree ''C. indivisa'', was preferred. The fibre made from cabbage tree leaves is stronger than that made from
New Zealand flax New Zealand flax describes the common New Zealand perennial plants ''Phormium tenax'' and ''Phormium colensoi'', known by the Māori names ''harakeke'' and ''wharariki'' respectively. Although given the common name 'flax' they are quite distinc ...
.


Medicine

The Māori used various parts of ''Cordyline australis'' to treat injuries and illnesses, either boiled up into a drink or pounded into a paste. The kōata, the growing tip of the plant, was eaten raw as a blood tonic or cleanser. Juice from the leaves was used for cuts, cracks and sores. An infusion of the leaves was taken internally for diarrhoea and used externally for bathing cuts. The leaves were rubbed until soft and applied either directly or as an ointment to cuts, skin cracks and cracked or sore hands. The young shoot was eaten by nursing mothers and given to children for colic. The liquid from boiled shoots was taken for other stomach pains. The seeds of ''Cordyline australis'' are high in
linoleic acid Linoleic acid (LA) is an organic compound with the formula COOH(CH2)7CH=CHCH2CH=CH(CH2)4CH3. Both alkene groups are cis-trans isomerism, ''cis''. It is a fatty acid sometimes denoted 18:2 (n-6) or 18:2 ''cis''-9,12. A linoleate is a salt (chem ...
, one of the essential fatty acids.


Cultivation today

''Cordyline australis'' is one of the most widely cultivated New Zealand native trees. In Northwest Europe and other cool
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
s, it is very popular as an ornamental tree because it looks like 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 climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
s. It is easily grown from fresh seed — seedlings often spontaneously appear in gardens from bird-dispersed seed — and can be grown very 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 locally named Cornish palm, Manx palm or Torbay palm. The last name is due to its extensive use in Torbay, it being the official symbol of that area, used in tourist posters promoting South Devon as the English Riviera. It also grows in southern Europe, California and Japan. Even though its natural distribution ranges from 34° S to 46°S, and despite its ultimately subtropical origins, it also grows at about five degrees from the Arctic Circle in Masfjorden, Norway, latitude 61ºN, in a microclimate protected from arctic winds and moderated by the Gulf Stream.


Cultivars

In the North Island, Māori cultivated selected forms of ''C. australis'' for food. One of these, called tī para or tī tāwhiti, was grown because it suckers readily and forms multiple fleshy rhizomes. A dwarf non-flowering selection of ''C. australis'', it has a rubbery, pulpy stem, and thick green leaves. Although it was recorded by the early naturalists, botanists only rediscovered it in the 1990s, being grown by gardeners as the cultivar ''Cordyline'' 'Thomas Kirk'. Recent and unpublished DNA work suggests it derives from ''C. australis'' of the central North Island. ''Cordyline'' 'Ti Tawhiti' was "the subject of an intense discussion amongst the leading botanists of New Zealand at a meeting of the Royal Society ... in Wellington 100 years ago. It was saved from extinction because its dwarf form found favour with gardeners and it came to be known as Cordyline 'Kirkii' recording the interest Thomas Kirk had in the plant. Its origin as a Maori selection was forgotten until rediscovered in 1991. The name 'Tawhiti' is equivalent to 'Hawaiki' and indicates the traditional belief that the plant was introduced to
Aotearoa ''Aotearoa'' () is the current Māori-language name for New Zealand. The name was originally used by Māori in reference to only the North Island, with the name of the whole country being ''Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu'' ("North Island and South ...
by the ancestral canoes of Maori. However, it is more probable that the name arose from it being moved around its native land as a domesticated plant." Numerous
cultivars A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...
of ''C. australis'' are sold within New Zealand and around the world. Like other ''Cordyline'' species, ''C. australis'' can produce
sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
which have very attractive colouration, including pink stripes and leaves in various shades of green, yellow or red. An early cultivar was published in France and England in 1870: ''Cordyline australis'' 'Lentiginosa' was described as having tinted leaves with brownish red spots. Other early cultivars included 'Veitchii' (1871) with crimson midribs, 'Atrosanguinea' (1882) with bronze leaves infused with red, 'Atropurpurea' (1886) and 'Purpurea' (1890) with purple leaves, and a range of variegated forms: 'Doucetiana' (1878), 'Argento-striata' (1888) and 'Dalleriana' (1890). In New Zealand and overseas, hybrids with other ''Cordyline'' species feature prominently in the range of cultivars available.
New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...
plant breeders Duncan and Davies included hybrids of ''C. australis'' and ''C. banksii'' in their 1925 catalogue, and have produced many new cultivars since. In New Zealand, some of the coloured forms and hybrids seem to be more susceptible to attacks from the cabbage tree moth. Immature forms have become a popular annual house or ornamental plant under the name 'Spikes', or '' Dracaena'' 'Spikes'. To add to the confusion, these may be misidentified as ''
Cordyline indivisa ''Cordyline indivisa'' is a monocot tree endemic to New Zealand, where it is called mountain cabbage tree or bush flax. It is also known as the broad-leaved cabbage tree, and in the Māori language as . Distribution In the North Island ''Cordyli ...
'' ( syn. ''Dracaena indivisa''). ''C. australis'' is hardy to USDA zones 8–11.


AGM cultivars

In cultivation in the United Kingdom, the following have received the
Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...
's
Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...
: *''C. australis'' *'Albertii' *'Sundance' *'Torbay Dazzler', *'Torbay Red' (confirmed 2017)


See also

* Barry L. Frankhauser, an archaeologist and anthropologist, whose Ph.D. thesis (published 1986) was a study of historical uses of the cabbage tree


Notes


Bibliography

* *Scheele, S. (2007)
The 2006 Banks Memorial Lecture: Cultural uses of New Zealand native plants
''New Zealand Garden Journal'' 1:10–16. Retrieved 2010-04-04. *


Further reading

*Arkins, A. (2003). ''The Cabbage Tree''. Auckland.
Reed Publishing Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd (formerly A. H. Reed Ltd and A. H. and A. W. Reed Ltd) was one of the leading publishers in New Zealand. It was founded by Alfred Hamish Reed and his wife Isabel in 1907. Reed's nephew Alexander Wyclif Reed joined the fi ...
. *Harris, W. (2001). Horticultural and conservation significance of the genetic variation of cabbage trees (Cordyline spp.). In: Oates, M. R. ed. ''New Zealand plants and their story: proceedings of a conference held in Wellington 1–3 October 1999''. Lincoln,
Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture The Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture (RNZIH) is a horticultural society in New Zealand. History According to its website, the RNZIH was founded in 1923. New Zealand's National Library of New Zealand, National Library holds minute book ...
. pp. 87–91. *Harris, W. (2002). The cabbage tree. ''Journal of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture'', 5, 3–9. *Harris, W. (2003). Genotypic variation of height growth and trunk diameter of Cordyline australis (Lomandraceae) grown at three locations in New Zealand. ''New Zealand Journal of Botany'', 41, 637–652. *Harris, W. (2004). Genotypic variation of dead leaf retention by Cordyline australis (Lomandraceae) populations and influence on trunk surface. ''New Zealand Journal of Botany'', 42, 833–844. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2379130 australis Trees of New Zealand Ornamental trees Trees of mild maritime climate Root vegetables Taxa named by Stephan Endlicher Plants described in 1786 Endemic flora of New Zealand