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Cordyline

 
Cordyline

 
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Cordyline
 
 
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Cordyline is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of about 15 species of woody monocotyledon
Monocotyledon

Monocotyledons or monocots are one of two major groups of flowering plants that are traditionally recognised, the other being dicotyledons or dicots....
ous flowering plant
Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
s classified in Asparagaceae
Asparagaceae

Asparagaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. Such a family has been recognized by quite a few taxonomists, but hardly universally: often the plants involved are treated as belonging to the family Liliaceae....
 or alternatively the segregate
Segregate (taxonomy)

In Alpha taxonomy, a segregate, or a segregate taxon is created when a taxon is split off, from another taxon. This other taxon will be better known, usually bigger, and will continue to exist, even after the segregate taxon has been split off....
 family Laxmanniaceae
Laxmanniaceae

Laxmanniaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. Such a family has been recognized by only few taxonomists.The APG II system does not recognize this family as such, but allows it to be segregated from the family Asparagaceae, as an optional segregate....
, in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group

The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, or APG, refers to two international groups of systematic botany who came together to try to establish a consensus view of the taxonomy of flowering plants that would reflect new knowledge in angiosperm relationships based upon molecular systematics studies....
 system, but placed by other authors in Agavaceae
Agavaceae

Agavaceae is a family of plants that includes many well-known desert and dry zone types such as the agave, yucca, and Yucca brevifolia. The family includes about 550-600 species in around 18 genus, and is widespread in the tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of the world....
 or Lomandraceae
Lomandraceae

Lomandraceae Lotsy is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. According to Conran's classification in Kubitzki system, it consists of some 14 genera and about 180 species from Australasia, southeast Asia, South America and North America and the Pacific Islands....
. The genus is native to the western Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
 region, from New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
, eastern Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, southeastern Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
, Polynesia
Polynesia

Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean....
 and Hawaii
Hawaii

File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
.

The name Cordyline comes from the Greek word for a club (kordyle), referring to enlarged rhizome
Rhizome

In botany, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal plant stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes....
s.

Selected species






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Encyclopedia


Cordyline is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of about 15 species of woody monocotyledon
Monocotyledon

Monocotyledons or monocots are one of two major groups of flowering plants that are traditionally recognised, the other being dicotyledons or dicots....
ous flowering plant
Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
s classified in Asparagaceae
Asparagaceae

Asparagaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. Such a family has been recognized by quite a few taxonomists, but hardly universally: often the plants involved are treated as belonging to the family Liliaceae....
 or alternatively the segregate
Segregate (taxonomy)

In Alpha taxonomy, a segregate, or a segregate taxon is created when a taxon is split off, from another taxon. This other taxon will be better known, usually bigger, and will continue to exist, even after the segregate taxon has been split off....
 family Laxmanniaceae
Laxmanniaceae

Laxmanniaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. Such a family has been recognized by only few taxonomists.The APG II system does not recognize this family as such, but allows it to be segregated from the family Asparagaceae, as an optional segregate....
, in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group

The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, or APG, refers to two international groups of systematic botany who came together to try to establish a consensus view of the taxonomy of flowering plants that would reflect new knowledge in angiosperm relationships based upon molecular systematics studies....
 system, but placed by other authors in Agavaceae
Agavaceae

Agavaceae is a family of plants that includes many well-known desert and dry zone types such as the agave, yucca, and Yucca brevifolia. The family includes about 550-600 species in around 18 genus, and is widespread in the tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of the world....
 or Lomandraceae
Lomandraceae

Lomandraceae Lotsy is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. According to Conran's classification in Kubitzki system, it consists of some 14 genera and about 180 species from Australasia, southeast Asia, South America and North America and the Pacific Islands....
. The genus is native to the western Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
 region, from New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
, eastern Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, southeastern Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
, Polynesia
Polynesia

Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean....
 and Hawaii
Hawaii

File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
.

The name Cordyline comes from the Greek word for a club (kordyle), referring to enlarged rhizome
Rhizome

In botany, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal plant stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes....
s.

Selected species
  • Cordyline australis (Cabbage Tree)
  • Cordyline banksii
    Cordyline banksii

    Cordyline banksii is a monocotyledon tree endemic to New Zealand. The species name banksii refers to the 18th-century botanist Joseph Banks....
  • Cordyline fruticosa
  • Cordyline haageana
  • Cordyline indivisa
    Cordyline indivisa

    Cordyline indivisa is a monocot tree endemic to New Zealand, where it has the common name Mountain cabbage tree. It is also known as the Broad-leaved cabbage tree, or Toi....
  • Cordyline obtecta
    Cordyline obtecta

    Cordyline obtecta is a widely branching monocotyledon tree native to Norfolk Island , and to northern New Zealand. The species name obtecta derives from the Latin obtegere , alluding to the way the inflorescence barely protruded beyond the leaves in the plant first described....
     (Norfolk Island
    Norfolk Island

    Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. It and two neighbouring islands form one of Australia's external Territory ....
     and northern New Zealand
    New Zealand

    New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
    , syn. C. kaspar, C. baueri)
  • Cordyline pumilio
  • Cordyline stricta
  • Cordyline terminalis ( Ti shrub, Syn. with C. fruticosa.) In Polynesia
    Polynesia

    Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean....
    , used for wrapping food, and has been used for clothing, house thatching, and its sugary roots as an emergency food supply.


The following species occur naturally in Australia:
  • Cordyline cannifolia
  • Cordyline congesta
  • Cordyline fruticosa
  • Cordyline manners-suttoniae
  • Cordyline murchisoniae
  • Cordyline petiolaris
  • Cordyline rubra
  • Cordyline stricta


Cultivation and uses

Members of the group are often grown as ornamental plant
Ornamental plant

Ornamental plants are typically grown in the flower garden or as house plants. Most commonly they are grown for the display of their flowers. Other common ornamental features include leaves, scent, fruit, Plant stem and bark....
s, and the cabbage tree has had culinary and other uses.

In Popular Culture

In the Ace Attorney series of games, Charley the Plant is a Cordyline stricta.