Cordyline fruticosa
Cordyline
Tī RR
f.LAXMANNIACEAE
Laxmannias
Cordyline fruticosa
Cordyline
Tī RR
f.LAXMANNIACEAE
Laxmannias
Cook Islands Status Summary
Show Notes
Intl. NamesCordyline EN Dracaena Palm EN Good Luck Plant EN Ki EN Lily‑palm EN Ti EN Tree‑of‑kings EN Keulenlilie DE
Local NamesRautīRR,MG,AT TīRR,MG,AT,MK,AK Pū RautīMT P,?NMH LautīPK
Pacific NamesTī / Lau Tī / Tī Vao SAM Rauti TAH
Sci. NamesCordyline fruticosa (accepted name)
, Cordyline terminalis, Convallaria fruticosa, Taetsia fruticosa
High Tax. Eng.k.Plants, p.Flowering Plants, f.Laxmannias - a shrub
High Tax. Latink.PLANTAE, p.ANTHOPHYTA, c.LILIOPSIDA, sc.LILIANAE, o.Liliales, f.LAXMANNIACEAE
Natl. PresencePresent
Sth. PresenceRR++++MG++++AT++++MK+++MT++++AK++++PL?MN-?TK-
Nth. PresenceTN-MH++?RK?PK++NS?SW-
VouchersPK2004
Local OriginIntroduced; Polynesian; Naturalised
Global RangeNative: Himalya - Indonesia, but anciently widespread; Introduced: pre-European contact (Asia - French Polynesia, Hawai‘i, n.NZ); nowadays circumtropical;
HabitatLand; Lowlands, Horticultural Zone; Uplands
ThreatenedNo Content
InvasivenessNo Content
BiosecurityNo Content
Medical StatusMedicine
Harmful StatusNo Content
UsesFood - root; Ornamental - leaves; Material - for adornment
IdentificationSee brief description.
Similar SpeciesNo Content
Interest NoteThe Traditional Cultivar has sterile pollen in the Cook Islamore...nds and elsewhere in Eastern Polynesia, while in Western Polynesia (Samoa, Tonga, Niue) it has fertile pollen and the female flowers develop ripening fruit. (pers.comm. Anya Hinkle, 2003) While Polynesia has only one traditional variety there are more than 50 cultivars recognised in the Bismark Archipelago.
In the Cook Islands the Traditional Cultivar is scattered throughout the mountains, and is common in hedges on property boundaries and around sacred areas. In hedges it is often interspersed with the Recent Green Cultivar which leaves smaller, blade-base with a pale margin and red edge, and fruit sometimes abundant and ripening red. Within gardens and in hedges there are also Recent Red Cultivars with leaves large to small, leaves flat to curled, leaves red to purple, and fruit often abudnant and ripening red.
In pre-European times the Traditional Cultivar was a very important plant with a carbohydrate laden root as famine food and the leaves used for costumes and ceremonial attire - as they still are today.
In the Cook Islands the Traditional Cultivar is scattered throughout the mountains, and is common in hedges on property boundaries and around sacred areas. In hedges it is often interspersed with the Recent Green Cultivar which leaves smaller, blade-base with a pale margin and red edge, and fruit sometimes abundant and ripening red. Within gardens and in hedges there are also Recent Red Cultivars with leaves large to small, leaves flat to curled, leaves red to purple, and fruit often abudnant and ripening red.
In pre-European times the Traditional Cultivar was a very important plant with a carbohydrate laden root as famine food and the leaves used for costumes and ceremonial attire - as they still are today.
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Vernacular Names
no data available
Threatened
no data available
Invasive/Pest Status
no data available
Biosecurity
Citation Information
McCormack, Gerald (2026) Cook Islands Biodiversity & Ethnobiology Database, Version 2026.04.14 - Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at https://naturalheritage.gov.ck/cibed
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