Cordyline australis
(Ti Kouka, Cabbage Tree)
Cordyline australis
(Ti Kouka, Cabbage Tree)
Prices:
| Each | 20 or more | |
|---|---|---|
| 2.5L Pot | $9.50 | $9.00 |
Details:
| Foliage Colour: | Green |
| Growth Rate: | Medium |
| Mature Height: | 12 m |
| Mature Width: | 2 m |
| Site Condition: | Coastal, Exposed, Frost Tolerant, Heavy Soil, Loamy Soil, Sandy Soil, Waterways |
| Sun: | Full Sun, Part Shade, Full Shade |
| Drainage: | Dry, Moist, Wet |
| Category: | Tree |
| Features: | Attractive to birds, insects and bees. Flower colour: White. Fruit colour: White. Native. Suitable restoration species. |
Cordyline australis, Ti Kouka, commonly called Cabbage Tree, is one of the most identifiable New Zealand native plants in the landscape. It has a tall straight trunk or trunks and a dense round head, with a sphere of long narrow leaves. Cabbage tree produces a profusion of attractive and scented flowers in spring. It is an abundant seeder. It looks most natural in the ornamental garden if planted in groups. Three or more plants can be planted together in the same hole to produce this effect. It grows in all soils and situations, even in swampy ground, where little else of interest will grow.
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. Its fruit and nectar are a favourite food source for kererū and tūī. Bellbirds like to nest in Tī Kōuka. Some lizards forage among the flowers of Cordyline australis and the nectar of the flowers is sought after by insects.
History of use: The Maoris obtained a most nutritious food, kauru, from the root of the young cabbage tree. This root is an extension of the trunk below the surface of the ground and is shaped like an enormous carrot some 2–3 ft long. An observer of the early 1840s, Edward Shortland, noted that the Maoris “prefer those grown in deep rich soil; they have learned to dig it at the season when it contains the greatest quantity of saccharine matter; that is, just before the flowering of the plant. They then bake, or rather steam it in their ovens. On cooling, the sugar is partially crystallised, and is found mixed with other matter between the fibres of the root, which are easily separated by tearing them asunder, and are then dipped in water and chewed”. The trunk of the cabbage tree is so fire-resistant that early European settlers used it to make chimneys for their huts. They also brewed beer from the root.
Medical Uses: An infusion of the leaves was used for dysentery and diarrhoea and for cuts. (From "Maori medical lore" by W. H. Goldie. 1905) The leaves were softened by rubbing and scraping. These scrapings were applied as an ointment to cuts, cracks in the skin and sores (from unpublished notes by Beryl Moore 1940). The younger inner shoots and the top of the stem were boiled and eaten by nursing mothers and were given to their children for colic. (From unpublished notes by T. Kururangi 1941)
Habitat: Widespread and common from coastal to montane forest. Most commonly encountered on alluvial terraces within riparian forest.
Flowering: Spring [October - December]
Fruiting: Summer - Autumn [January - April]
My Lists: Erosion Control, Rongoa, Wetland
