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Cordyline australis

Common name:	Cabbage Tree	Family:	Agavaceae
Author:	(G.Forst.)Hook.f.	Botanical references:	11, 44, 200
Synonyms:	Dracaena australis (G.Forst.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	New Zealand.
Habitat:	Forest margins and open places. Abundant near swamps. North, South and Stewart Islands[44].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	New Zealand Cabbage Tree [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	australis = southern
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Liliales. Century-plant family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen tree growing to 15m by 5m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 8 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from August to September. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Leaves Root Stem Sweetener.

Root - baked[105, 153, 173, 177]. It can also be brewed into an intoxicating drink[183].
Pith of the trunk - dried and steamed until soft[173]. Sweet and starchy, it is used to make porridge or a sweet drink[173].
The root and stems are rich in fructose, the yields compare favourably with sugar beet (Beta vulgaris altissima)[153].
Edible shoots - a cabbage substitute[105, 128, 173]. The leaves are very fibrous even when young, we would not fancy eating them[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Fibre Paper.

The leaves contain saponins, but not in commercial quantities[153].
The leaves contain a strong fibre, used for making paper, twine, cloth, baskets, thatching, rain capes etc[1, 46, 61, 128, 153]. The whole leaves would be used for some of these applications. When used for making paper, the leaves are harvested in summer, they are scraped to remove the outer skin and are then soaked in water for 24 hours prior to cooking[189].

Cultivation details

Prefers a good sandy loam rich in humus[1]. Succeeds in full sun or light shade[188]. A very wind hardy plant, tolerating maritime exposure[49, 166].
A very ornamental plant[1], it is not very cold-hardy, tolerating short-lived lows down to about -10° c[260]. It only succeeds outdoors in the milder areas of Britain[1, 11, 59]. It grows very well in &ndndndnd where it often self-sows[1, 11, 59]. A form with purplish leaves is hardier than the type and succeeds outdoors in Gloucestershire[11].
The flowers have a delicious sweet scent that pervades the air to a considerable distance[245].
Mice often kill young plants by eating out the pith of the stem[11].

Propagation

Seed - pre-soak for about 10 minutes in warm water and sow in late winter to early spring in a warm greenhouse[78, 164]. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 25° c[164]. There is usually a good percentage germination[78]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant out in late spring after the last expected frosts and give the plants some protection in their first winter outdoors[K].
Stem cuttings - cut off the main stem just below the head and then saw off 5cm thick blocks of stem and place them 3cm deep in pure peat in a heated frame. Keep them moist until they are rooting well, then pot them up into individual pots. Plant out in late spring after the last expected frosts.
Suckers. These are best removed in early spring and planted out in situ. Protect the division from wind and cold weather and do not allow the soil to become dry until the plant is established. Divisions can also be potted up and grown on until established, planting them out in the summer.

Scent

Root: Crushed: The roots have a ginger-like smell and taste.
Flowers: Fresh: The flowers have a delicious sweet scent that pervades the air to a considerable distance.

Cultivars

'': No entries have been made for this species as yet.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[44] Allan. H. H. Flora of New Zealand. Government Printer, Wellington. 1961
The standard work, in 3 volumes though only the first two are of interest to the plant project. Very good on habitats.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[49] Arnold-Forster. Shrubs for the Milder Counties.
Trees and shrubs that grow well in &ndndndnd and other mild areas of Britain. Fairly good, a standard reference book.

[59] Thurston. Trees and Shrubs in &ndndndnd.
Trees and shrubs that succeed in &ndndndnd based on the authors own observations. Good but rather dated.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[128] Laing. and Blackwell. Plants of New Zealand. Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd 1907
An old flora of New Zealand in a readable style. Some details of plant uses.

[153] Brooker. S. G., Cambie. R. C. and Cooper. R. C. Economic Native Plants of New Zealand. Oxford University Press 1991 ISBN 0-19-558229-2
An interesting and readable book on the useful plants of New Zealand.

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[166] Taylor. J. The Milder Garden. Dent 1990
A good book on plants that you didn't know could be grown outdoors in Britain.

[173] Crowe. A. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton 1990 ISBN 0-340-508302
A very well written and illustrated book based on the authors own experiments with living on a native diet.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[189] Bell. L. A. Plant Fibres for Papermaking. Liliaceae Press 1988
A good practical section on how to make paper on a small scale plus details of about 75 species (quite a few of them tropical) that can be used.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[260] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2 Pan Books, London. 1998 ISBN 0-330-37376-5
Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.

Readers Comments

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