Cordyline rubra

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. 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. The species name is from the Latin ruber "red".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, narrow elliptic in shape. Flowering occurs from summer, being lilac in colour. 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.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. Occasionally it hybridizes with Cordyline petiolaris in the wild.

Characteristics

Plant Type

Tree, Shrub

Life Cycle

Perennial

Genus

Cordyline

Family

Asparagaceae

Hardiness Zone

9-11

Mature Height

0.91 m to 3.05 m

Mature Spread

49 cm to 91 cm

Leaf Color

Maroon, Dark Red

Leaf Type

Evergreen

Flower Color

White

Flower Size

0.51 cm to 1.02 cm

Bloom Time

Summer

Planting Time

Spring, Summer, Autumn

Harvest Time

Late summer, Fall

Native Area

Eastern Asia

Tags (26)

Common Names (1)