Cordyline

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information:

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Monocots > Asparagales > Asparagaceae > Lomandroideae > Cordyline 

Other links:    

Plant  information

Common name:                Palm Lilies

Conservation status: 

Etymology:   

• The name Cordyline comes from the Greek word kordyle, meaning "club," a reference to the enlarged underground stems or rhizomes

Flowers:                  

Fruit:                         

Leaves:         

Stem & branches: 

• x

Roots:         

• x

Habit:        

• Woody monocotyledonous flowering plants

Habitat:   

Distribution:                  

• Cordyline is native to the western Pacific Ocean region, from New Zealand, eastern Australia, southeastern Asia and Polynesia, with one species found in southeastern South America

Species:                     

• World:            24 

• Australia:      8

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy

  • The subfamily has previously been treated as a separate family Laxmanniaceae, or Lomandraceae

  • Other authors have placed the genus in the Agavaceae (now Agavoideae)

• Cultivation and uses

  • Members of the group are often grown as ornamental plants - notably C. australis and C. fruticosa

  • Many species have been used as a foodstuff and medicine, for additional details on these and other uses see the article on C. australis

  • The rhizome was roasted in an hāngi (earth oven) by Māori to extract sugar

  • In the highlands of Papua New Guinea. leaves of Cordyline and other plants are tied to sticks to mark taboo areas where pandanus language must be spoken during karuka harvest

• Species

  • As of March 2015, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families accepts 24 species (8 in Australia):

    • Cordyline angustissima – New Guinea

    • Cordyline australis – New Zealand

    • Cordyline banksii – New Zealand

    • Cordyline cannifolia  – N.E. Northern Territory, N.E. Queensland

    • Cordyline casanovae – Vanuatu

    • Cordyline congesta – S.E. Queensland to N.E. NSW

    • Cordyline diffusa – New Zealand

    • Cordyline forbesii – Papua New Guinea

    • Cordyline fruticosa – Papuasia to W. Pacific

    • Cordyline indivisa – New Zealand 

    • Cordyline lateralis – New Guinea

    • Cordyline ledermannii – New Guinea

    • Cordyline manners-suttoniae – Australia: N.E. Queensland

    • Cordyline mauritiana – Mascarenes

    • Cordyline minutiflora – New Guinea

    • Cordyline murchisoniae – Australia: E. Queensland

    • Cordyline neocaledonica – New Caledonia

    • Cordyline obtecta – Norfolk Island, N. New Zealand North Island

    • Cordyline petiolaris – Australia: S.E. Queensland to N.E. NSW

    • Cordyline pumilio – New Zealand North Island

    • Cordyline racemosa   – New Guinea

    • Cordyline rubra          – S.E. Queensland to N.E. NSW

    • Cordyline schlechteri – New Guinea

    • Cordyline sellowiana – Bolivia to Brazil and N. Argentina

    • Cordyline stricta – S.E. Queensland to N.E. NSW

  • Formerly placed here

    • Dracaena aletriformis 

    • Dracaena elliptica

    • Dracaena fragrans

Genus distribution: