''Cordyline'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of about 15 species of woody

monocotyledon Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, ( Lilianae '' sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon. They constitute one ...

ous

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...

s in

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Asparagaceae Asparagaceae, known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, '' Asparagus officinalis''. Those who live in the temperate ...

, subfamily

Lomandroideae Lomandroideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales, according to the APG III system of 2009. The subfamily name is derived from the generic name of the type genus, '' Lomandra''. The group h ...

. The subfamily has previously been treated as a separate family Laxmanniaceae, or Lomandraceae. Other authors have placed the genus in the Agavaceae (now Agavoideae). ''Cordyline'' is native to the western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

region, from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

, eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, southeastern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

, with one species found in southeastern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

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

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow ...

Species

, the

World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (usually abbreviated to WCSP) is an "international collaborative programme that provides the latest peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected pla ...

accepts 24 species: * '' Cordyline angustissima'' K.Schum. – New Guinea * ''

Cordyline australis ''Cordyline australis'', commonly known as the cabbage tree, tī kōuka or cabbage-palm, is a widely branched monocot tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows up to tall with a stout trunk and sword-like leaves, which are clustered at the tips of ...

'' (G.Forst.) Endl. (Cabbage Tree) – New Zealand * ''

Cordyline banksii ''Cordyline banksii'' (forest cabbage tree, ''tī ngahere'') is a monocot tree endemic to New Zealand. The specific epithet ''banksii'' refers to the 18th-century botanist Joseph Banks. Distribution ''Cordyline banksii'' tolerates a wide variet ...

'' Hook.f. (syn. ''C. diffusa'' Colenso.) – New Zealand * '' Cordyline cannifolia'' R.Br. – Australia: N.E. Northern Territory, N.E. Queensland * '' Cordyline casanovae'' Linden ex André – Vanuatu * '' Cordyline congesta'' (Sweet) Steud. (syn. ''C. dracaenoides'' Kunth) – Australia: S.E. Queensland to N.E. New South Wales * '' Cordyline diffusa'' Colenso. (syn. ''C. banksii'' Hook.f.) – New Zealand * '' Cordyline forbesii'' Rendle – Papua New Guinea * ''

Cordyline fruticosa ''Cordyline fruticosa'' is an evergreen flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae. The plant is of great cultural importance to the traditional animistic religions of Austronesian and Papuan peoples of the Pacific Islands, New Zealand, Isla ...

'' (L.) A.Chev. – Papuasia to W. Pacific * '' Cordyline indivisa'' (G.Forst.) Endl. (mountain cabbage tree) – New Zealand (syn. ''Cordyline hectori'', ''Cordyline hookeri'') * '' Cordyline lateralis'' Lauterb. – New Guinea * '' Cordyline ledermannii'' K.Krause – New Guinea * '' Cordyline manners-suttoniae'' F.Muell. – Australia: N.E. Queensland * '' Cordyline mauritiana'' (Lam.) J.F.Macbr. – Mascarenes * '' Cordyline minutiflora'' Ridl. – New Guinea * '' Cordyline murchisoniae'' F.Muell. (syn. ''C. haageana'' K.Koch) – Australia: E. Queensland * '' Cordyline neocaledonica'' (Baker) B.D.Jacks. – New Caledonia * ''

Cordyline obtecta ''Cordyline obtecta'' (Ti, Norfolk Island cabbage tree, Three Kings cabbage tree) is a widely branching monocot tree native to Norfolk Island (the type locality), and to northern New Zealand. The species name ''obtecta'' derives from the Latin '' ...

'' (Graham) Baker – Norfolk Island, N. New Zealand North Island * '' Cordyline petiolaris'' (Domin) Pedley – Australia: S.E. Queensland to N.E. New South Wales * ''

Cordyline pumilio ''Cordyline pumilio'', commonly known as the dwarf cabbage tree, pygmy cabbage tree or by its Māori names tī koraha or tī rauriki, is a narrow-leaved monocot shrub endemic to New Zealand. It usually grows up to tall, although rare examples o ...

'' Hook.f. – New Zealand North Island * '' Cordyline racemosa'' Ridl. – New Guinea * '' Cordyline rubra'' Otto & A.Dietr. – Australia: S.E. Queensland to N.E. New South Wales * '' Cordyline schlechteri'' Lauterb. – New Guinea * '' Cordyline sellowiana'' Kunth – Bolivia to Brazil and N. Argentina * '' Cordyline stricta'' (Sims) Endl. – Australia: S.E. Queensland to N.E. New South Wales

Formerly placed here

*'' Dracaena aletriformis'' (Haw.) Bos (as ''C. rumphii'' Hook.) *'' Dracaena elliptica'' Thunb. & Dalm. (as ''C. maculata'' (Roxb.) Planch. and ''C. sieboldii'' Planch.) *''

Dracaena fragrans ''Dracaena fragrans'' (cornstalk dracaena), is a flowering plant species that is native throughout tropical Africa, from Sudan south to Mozambique, west to Côte d'Ivoire and southwest to Angola, growing in upland regions at altitude.JSTOR Plant ...

'' (L.) Ker Gawl. (as ''C. fragrans'' (L.) Planch.)

Cultivation and uses

Members of the group are often grown as

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

s - 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 Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

to extract sugar. In the highlands of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. leaves of ''Cordyline'' and other plants are tied to sticks to mark taboo areas where pandanus language must be spoken during

karuka The karuka (''Pandanus julianettii'', also called karuka nut and ''Pandanus'' nut) is a species of tree in the family Pandanaceae and an important regional food crop in New Guinea. The nuts are more nutritious than coconuts, and are so popul ...

harvest.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1543189 Asparagaceae genera Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)