The New Zealand cabbage tree is neither a cabbage nor a tree. The cabbage tree is one of New Zealand’s most recognised and iconic plants, and is in the Asparagaceae family and closely allied to dracaenas. It is culturally significant to Maori because it was a food source, for medicine, a source of fibres for making textiles, and many other uses, as well as being often used as maker points when travelling. There are five recognised species that are endemic to New Zealand. There are also numerous cultivated forms of cabbage tree.

The five species are:

·         Cordyline australis, tī kōuka, cabbage tree

·         Cordyline banksii, tī ngahere, forest cabbage tree

·         Cordyline indivisa, toī, broad leaved or mountain cabbage tree

·         Cordyline obtecta, syn. C. Kaspar, Three Kings Island cabbage tree

·         Cordyline pumilio, tī rauriki, dwarf cabbage tree

Cordyline australis, tī kōuka, cabbage tree is endemic to the North, South and Stewart Islands. Probably naturalised on the Chatham Islands. It is widespread and common from coastal to montane forest, and most commonly encountered on alluvial terraces within riparian forest. It is a small tree up to 20 m tall with a  stout trunk 1.5-2 m diameter, and many-branched above. Prior to flowering the trunk  is slender and solitary, then branching happens after the first flowering. It has bark that is corky, persistent, fissured, pale to dark grey. It has large white higly scented flower heads from (September-) October-December (-January), then fruits from (December-) January-March. One of the most widely cultivated New Zealand native plants, and it is very popular in Europe, Britain and the U.S.A. Easily grown from fresh seed (seedlings often spontaneously appear in gardens from bird-dispersed seed), emergent shoot, stem and even trunk cuttings. Very hardy and will tolerate most soils and moisture regimes but dislikes long periods of drought. It is excellent in pots and tubs.

Cordyline banksii, tī ngahere, forest cabbage tree is endemic to the North and South Islands from sea-level to 1000m asl. It is common throughout the North Island, and widespread in the South Island through the northern half, extending in the west to about Haast with occasional as unsubstantiated reports of it from the coastal portion of Fiordland. It is a common plant in coastal, lowland, and lower montane forests, occasionally extending into subalpine habitats in the South Island. It is often found in shrublands where it is sympatric with, and often hybridises with Cordyline pumilio. It is tolerant of a wide range of situations. It is a shrub or small tree up to 4 m tall with multiple stems, sometimes 1 to 4 or many, that are 100-150 mm diameter that arising from ground level, subequal, and sparingly branched withpale green to yellowish-green lanceolate leaves that are somewhat "paddle-shaped", and broad about middle and drooping from there. It has white sweetly perfumed flowers from November – January, and then white to bluish white or blue fruits from February – April. Although it can grow in drier conditions it much prefers a reasonably moist soil in sun or semi-shade.

Cordyline indivisa, toī, broad leaved or mountain cabbage tree is endemic to the North and South Islands and is found from 450 – 1200m asl. In the North Island known south of Kohukohunui (Hunua) and Te Moehau (Coromandel Peninsula) but only really common from the Raukumara Ranges and northern portion of the Central Volcanic Plateau southwards. In the South Island widespread and common along the north and western portions of the island, more local in the drier eastern regions. It is a feature of montane forests and subalpine shrublands, where it usually grows within gullies and at valley heads. Extending into lowland situations where physical geography allows for a cooler climate. It is the characteristic cabbage tree of the wetter, montane forests of the West Coast of the South Island.

It is a stout tree up to 8 m tall with a trunk up 0.4-0.8 m diameter with massive stems that are usually unbranched or sparingly so. It’s leaves are broadly sword-shaped that droop with age, and area a blue-green colour above,  glaucous below, and often tinged red, orange red or golden. It has white faintly fragrant flowers from (November-) December-January, then bluish to dark blue fruit from January-May. It can be difficult to grow in some of the drier regions of the country, and because it naturally grows in cooler mountain forest or high rainfall areas, it prefers a rather deep rich, cool soil.

Cordyline obtecta, syn. C. kaspar, Three Kings Island cabbage tree is indigenous to the Three Kings Islands (North East Island, Manawa Tawhi (Great Island), South West Island and West Island), North Island (North Cape and Murimotu Island), Poor Knights Islands (Aorangi and Tawhiti Rahi), but is also present on Norfolk Island, which is the type locality for Cordyline obtecta. It is a stout, widely branched tree up to 6 m tall, which can have either a solitary trunk, or is multi-trunked from the base, with the trunks up to 0.45 m in diameter at the base that have copious, firm, corky, grey-brown bark. Leaves are the same colour throughout, and are either yellow-green, or green to glaucous-green, and often dropping. It has white to pale yellowish flowers are strongly and sweetly scented, and appear from September – December followed by fruit from March – June. It is suitable for most soil types and can be tender to frosts when younger, and may not be suitable for some areas, especially in districts that get severe frost.

Cordyline pumilio, rauriki, tī koraha, or  dwarf cabbage tree is endemic to the North Island, from Te Paki (North Cape) to Kawhia Harbour in the west and Bay of Plenty in the East. It is found in coastal to montane areas, and often in gumland and other shrubland from sea-level to 450 asl. It is common in kauri (Agathis australis) forest, especially along ridgelines and around slip scars. It is a plant that forms leafy tufts up to 1 m tall, quite often with no trunk, or rarely sparingly developed, and occasionally reaching up to 2 m tall. It is easily recognised by its long, rather grass-like foliage, and from all other Cordyline in New Zealand by its usually "stemless" growth habit (the stems are actually buried beneath the soil). More frequently confused with Dianella or Libertia from which it is easily distinguished by the, yellow-green, prominently ribbed leaves. It has very slender loosely branched panicles with distantly space red/pink flowers from October – January that are followed by fruit that are bluish or flecked with blue from March – May. It is a very useful plant for garden borders or in a rock garden, and can be grown in a pot. It likes a deep garden soil, and will grow in a sunny or semi-shaded position.