''Cordyline congesta'', commonly known as narrow-leaved palm lily (not to be confused with '' C. stricta'', also known by this common name) is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

plant. A rare shrub up to tall found on the margins of

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

, and in riverine scrub and moist gullies in

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

forest. Growing north from the

Clarence River, New South Wales The Clarence River ( Bundjalung: ''Boorimbah'', Yaygir: ''Ngunitiji'') is a river situated in the Northern Rivers district of New South Wales, Australia. The river rises on the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range, in the Border Range ...

. Leaves long and thin to

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

. Up to long by , with stiff marginal teeth near the base of leaf; leaf stem up to long. Small white to mauve flowers form on

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. Flowering occurs from September to October. Fruit an orange-red berry, in diameter, ripening from December to March. This species propagates easily from seeds, suckers or stem cuttings. Similar to ''Cordyline stricta'' and '' C. rubra''; however, ''C. congesta'' has jagged, fringed or scolloped leaf margins, particularly near the leaf base.

References

congesta Plants described in 1827 Flora of New South Wales Asparagales of Australia Flora of Queensland {{Asparagaceae-stub