Here's a photo of our favorite cabbage tree at the Timaru Botanic Gardens... Its so old it was here before the whalers arrived in 1838... pre the arrival of Europeans to Timaru! This tree has a hollow trunk. Apparently cabbage tree's like this made excellent chimneys in the first European immigrants homes...
Fun fact for your Friday... near the care takers house at the Timaru Botanic Gardens, is a Tī kōuka - cabbage tree, they think that this could pre date the establishment of the Botanic Gardens and could well be the oldest tree there! 2022 minus 1864 = makes the tree over 158 years old!
Tī kōuka (Cordyline Australis) can grow to be 20m tall with a skinny trunk and sword like leaves. They are so resilient, that they are often the last indigenous plant to persist within cleared land.
Did you know: They were a significant food source for early Māori and provided a fibre resource prized for its strength. A good stand of trees is known as a para–kauru, with kauru being the name given to the food processed from the cabbage tree. They are also used for Rongoa (Medicine).
Their Super powers: The fibre doesn’t shrink in water and is super strong and is used for making rope, kete baskets, clothing.
They help the eco system by: using strong root systems to help stop soil erosion and tolerate wet soil.
They are a taonga species: central to the identity and well being of many Māori and are a important as food, fibre and medicine.
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