''Livistona australis'', the cabbage-tree palm, is an Australian plant species in the family
Arecaceae. It is a tall, slender palm growing up to about 25 m in height and 0.35 m diameter.
[Boland ''et al.'', pp. 71–72.] It is crowned with dark, glossy green leaves on petioles 2 m long. It has leaves plaited like a fan; the cabbage of these is small but sweet. In summer it bears flower spikes with sprigs of cream-white flowers. The trees accumulate dead
fronds
A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the lar ...
or leaves, which when the plant is in cultivation are often removed by an
arborist
An arborist, tree surgeon, or (less commonly) arboriculturist, is a professional in the practice of arboriculture, which is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants in dend ...
.
Seeking protection from the sun, early European settlers in Australia used fibre from the native palm to create the
cabbage tree hat, a distinctive form of headwear during the colonial era.
Distribution and habitat
Mostly this plant is found in moist open forest, often in swampy sites and on margins of rainforests or near the sea. It is widely spread along the
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
coast and extends north into
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
and southwards to eastern
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, growing further south than any other native Australian palm.
Culture
The cabbage-tree palm grows best in moist, organically-rich soils, and thrives in both sheltered and well-lit situations. It is also salt, frost and wind tolerant, with populations occurring in exposed coastal situations along the east coast of Australia from Queensland to Victoria. The most southerly stand is near Cabbage Tree Creek 30 kilometres east of
Orbost, Victoria
Orbost is a historic early settlers town in the Shire of East Gippsland, Victoria, east of Melbourne and south of Canberra where the Princes Highway crosses the Snowy River. It is about from the surf and fishing seaside town of Marlo on the ...
(37° S).
Reproduction is by seeds. At first the fruit is red, finally turning black, at which point it is ready to be peeled and planted.
Significance in Aboriginal culture
The cabbage-tree palm was called "Dtharowal", where the
Tharawal
The Dharawal people, also spelt Tharawal and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Dharawal language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, s ...
language gets its name from. New growth of the tree could be cooked or eaten raw and the heart of the trunk could be cooked as a medicine to ease a sore throat. Leaves of the cabbage-tree palm were used for shelter and fibres for string, rope and fishing lines.
Gallery
Livistona australis8601289220 186afa3316 o.jpg, Fan leaf, Burning Palms, New South Wales
Burning Palms is an unbounded neighbourhood within the locality of Lilyvale and a beach in the Royal National Park, Wollongong, south of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It has a surf club and a local cabin community, and is a popular day- ...
Livistona australis8610964819 00d8e2c36c o.jpg, ''L. australis'' & casuarinas on a cliff above the sea
Livistona australis 44273081951 7c6df6e73d o.jpg, ''L. australis'' Leaf detail
Livistona australis 14694924608 f550957587 o.jpg, ''L. australis'' McKay Reserve, Palm Beach, NSW
Livistona australis 14858545616 f8829d11b3 o.jpg, ''L. australis'' Ku-ring-gai Chase NP NSW
References
Citations
Sources
* Boland, D.J.; Brooker, M.I.H.; Chippendale, G.M.; Hall, N.; Hyland, B.P.M.; Johnston, R.D.; Kleinig, D.A.; & Turner, J.D. (1984). ''Forest Trees of Australia''. (4th edition). Thomas Nelson, Australia; and CSIRO: Melbourne. .
External links
Australasian Virtual Herbarium: occurrence data for ''Livistona australis''PlantNET: ''Livistona australis'' description
{{Taxonbar, from=Q690845
australis
Palms of Australia
Ornamental trees
Flora of New South Wales
Flora of Queensland
Flora of Victoria (Australia)
Plants described in 1810