Cordyline indivisa (Mountain Cabbage Tree)
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Kingdom:
- Plantae
- Angiosperms
- Monocots
- Order: Asparagales
- Family: Laxmanniaceae
- Genus: Cordyline
- Species: C. indivisa
- Binomial name: Cordyline indivisa
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Synonyms:
- Dracaena
- Dracaenopsis indivisa
- Cordyline hookeri
- Cordyline hectori
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Common names:
- Mountain Cabbage tree
- Broad-leaved cabbage tree. Toi
Cordyline indivisa is very distinctive. The species can be distinguished from all other Cordyline species by its very broad blue-grey leaves, and it’s smaller, tightly compacted inflorescence which is produced from beneath the foliage. It forms a stout tree up to 8 m tall, with a trunk from 40 to 80 cm in diameter. The stem is usually unbranched or has very few branches. The leaves are 1 to 2 metres long, and from 10-15cm wide, a blue-green and are shaped like a broadsword. They have conspicuous midrib which is often tinged red, orange-red or golden. Dead leaves forming a skirt at the base of the tuft.
The inflorescence which appears November- December is a panicle that arises from the base of the growing points underneath the leaves. Small blueish fruit develop January-May. It is found In open places in the forest where there is plenty of light, including road and track margins between 450 and 1350 metres above sea level on Mt Taranaki/Egmont.