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Cordyline banksii (Forest Cabbage Tree) - A upright shrub or small tree to 12 feet tall by 6 feet wide with 4 to 5 foot long paddle-shaped upright 2 to 3 inch wide leaves that are in ranks of 2, unlike the radiating rosette like arrangement of Cordyline australis. The leaves, with a prominent flat midrib and a glossy upper surface, are broadest at the mid-point from which the tips droop gracefully downwards. This plant is unique in its youth while the leaves remain two ranked much like a traveler's palm (Ravenala madagascariensis), but with age the growth point rotates to make full large heads of leaves. In summer months appear a tall panicle of fragrant white flowers.
Plant in full sun to light shade and give regular to occasional irrigation. This plant has a tropical look similar to the ti plant, Cordyline terminalis.
Cordyline banksii is a common plant in the coastal lowlands and lower elevation forests of the North Island of New Zealand as well as in the northern half of the South Island and southward along its west coast. The name Cordyline comes from the Greek word kordyle, meaning "club," a reference to the enlarged underground stems or rhizomes and the specific epithet honors Joseph Banks, the 18th-century botanist who accompanied Captain James Cook on his first major voyage of discovery in 1768. Another common name given to this plant by the Maori people is Ti ngahere. We were primarily interested in this species as it is a parent of some of the lower growing flax-like (Phormium sp.) Cordyline cultivars such as |
