Livistona australis

{{Short description|Species of palm}} {{Speciesbox | image = Livistona RNP.JPG | image2 = Livistona australis00.jpg | genus = Livistona | species = australis | authority = (R.Br.) Mart.<ref name="ipni">{{cite web |title = IPNI: ''Livistona australis'' |url = http://www.ipni.org/ipni/idPlantNameSearch.do?id=100712-3 |website=International Plant Name Index |access-date=12 June 2018 }}</ref> }}

'''''Livistona australis''''', the '''cabbage-tree palm''', is an Australian plant species in the family Arecaceae. It is a tall, slender palm growing up to about 25 m in height and 0.35 m diameter.<ref name="Boland">Boland ''et al.'', pp. 71–72.</ref> It is crowned with dark, glossy green leaves on petioles 2 m long. It has leaves plaited like a fan; the terminal bud of these is small but sweet. In summer it bears flower spikes with sprigs of cream-white flowers. The trees accumulate dead fronds or leaves, which when the plant is in cultivation are often removed by an arborist.

It is the namesake of the Tharawal people (i.e. after its native name in their language) residing on the coast of present-day Wollongong.<ref>{{Cite book| chapter = Illawarra Aborigines – an Introductory History | last1 = Organ | first1 = Michael K. | last2 = Speechley | first2 = Carol | year = 1997 | title = A History of Wollongong | editor1-last = Hagan | editor1-first = J. S. | editor2-last = Wells | editor2-first = A. | publisher = University of Wollongong Press | url = http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1022&context=asdpapers | page = 7 }}</ref> Seeking protection from the sun, early European settlers in Australia used fibre from the native palm to create the cabbage tree hat, a distinctive form of headwear during the colonial era.

==Distribution and habitat== Mostly this plant is found in moist open forest, often in swampy sites and on margins of rainforests or near the sea. It is widely spread along the New South Wales coast and extends north into Queensland and southwards to eastern Victoria, growing further south than any other native Australian palm.

==Culture== The cabbage-tree palm grows best in moist, organically rich soils, and thrives in both sheltered and well-lit situations. It is also salt, frost and wind tolerant, with populations occurring in exposed coastal situations along the east coast of Australia from Queensland to Victoria. The most southerly stand is near Cabbage Tree Creek 30 kilometres east of Orbost, Victoria (37° S).

Reproduction is by seeds. At first the fruit is red, finally turning black, at which point it is ready to be peeled and planted.

==Significance in Aboriginal culture== The cabbage-tree palm was called "Dtharowal", where the aforementioned Tharawal language gets its name from. New growth of the tree could be cooked or eaten raw and the heart of the trunk could be cooked as a medicine to ease a sore throat. Leaves of the cabbage-tree palm were used for shelter and fibres for string, rope and fishing lines.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Watt|first1=Bruce|title=The Shire : A journey through time|date=2014|publisher=Everbest|location=China|isbn=9780646920191|page=11}}</ref>

==Gallery== <gallery heights="140px" mode="packed-hover" style="margin-top:3em;"> Livistona australis8601289220 186afa3316 o.jpg|Fan leaf, Burning Palms, New South Wales Livistona australis8610964819 00d8e2c36c o.jpg|''L. australis'' & casuarinas on a cliff above the sea Livistona australis 44273081951 7c6df6e73d o.jpg|''L. australis'' Leaf detail Livistona australis 14694924608 f550957587 o.jpg|''L. australis'' McKay Reserve, Palm Beach, NSW Livistona australis 14858545616 f8829d11b3 o.jpg|''L. australis'' Ku-ring-gai Chase NP NSW </gallery>

==References== ===Citations=== {{Reflist}}

===Sources=== {{Refbegin}} * Boland, D.J.; Brooker, M.I.H.; Chippendale, G.M.; Hall, N.; Hyland, B.P.M.; Johnston, R.D.; Kleinig, D.A.; & Turner, J.D. (1984). ''Forest Trees of Australia''. (4th edition). Thomas Nelson, Australia; and CSIRO: Melbourne. {{ISBN|0-17-006264-3}}. {{Refend}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} *[http://avh.ala.org.au/occurrences/search?taxa=Livistona+australis#tab_mapView Australasian Virtual Herbarium: occurrence data for ''Livistona australis''] *[http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Livistona~australis PlantNET: ''Livistona australis'' description]

australis Category:Palms of Australia Category:Ornamental trees Category:Flora of New South Wales Category:Flora of Queensland Category:Flora of Victoria (state) Category:Plants described in 1810