Cordyline rubra

Palm Lily
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Lomandroideae
Genus: Cordyline
Species: C. rubra
Binomial name
Cordyline rubra
Otto & A.Dietr.
Synonyms

Cordyline rubra, known as the Palm Lily is an evergreen Australian plant. It grows as a shrub to around 4 metres (13 ft) tall. Found in warm rainforest and moist eucalyptus forest.[1] The range of natural distribution is from Lismore to near Bundaberg, Queensland.

Cordyline rubra was first described by the German botanists Christoph Friedrich Otto and Albert Gottfried Dietrich in 1848.[2] The species name is from the Latin ruber "red".[3]

Cordyline rubra is mainly identified by the leaf stems, which grow from 5 to 20 cm (2–8 in) long. They are flat or somewhat concave in shape. The leaves 15 to 50 cm (6–20 in) long, and 3 to 5.5 cm (1.4–2.2 in) wide,[4] narrow elliptic in shape. Flowering occurs from summer, being lilac in colour.[5] The fruit is a bright red berry, 10 mm (0.4 in) in diameter.They grow on panicles 10 to 40 cm (4–16 in) long.[3]

This species propagates easily from seeds or stem cuttings. Cordyline rubra is not as widely seen in cultivation as C. australis, however it is also well suited to gardens with moist soils in semi shade. It is a resilient plant and can tolerate neglect. Also suited as an indoor pot plant.[6] Occasionally it hybridizes with Cordyline petiolaris in the wild.

References

  1. ↑ "Cordyline rubra". Australian Plants Online.
  2. ↑ "Cordyline rubra Otto & A.Dietr.". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  3. 1 2 Elliot RW, Jones DL, Blake T (1984). Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation:Volume 3 - Ce-Er. Port Melbourne: Lothian Press. p. 88. ISBN 0-85091-167-2.
  4. ↑ "Cordyline rubra". PlantNET – NSW Flora Online. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
  5. ↑ Cundall. P., (2008) Native Plants:The definitive guide to Australian plants, Global Book Publishing Lane Cove, N.S.W, p. 127, ISBN 978-1-74048-027-7
  6. ↑ "Cordyline rubra". Brisbane Rainforest Action and Information Network.
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