Species
Livistona australis
Etymology
australis: southern
Common Name(s)
cabbage tree palm
Authority
Livistona australis (R.Br.) Mart.
Family
Arecaceae
Flora Category
Vascular - Exotic
Structural Class
Monocotyledonous Trees and Shrubs
Habitat
Well naturalised on Kawau Island, otherwise mainly confined to the vicinity of plant specimens in urban areas. This is because the fruits are of sufficient size that most birds cannot consume them. However, wood pigeon/Kereru (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) can and do distribute fruit. This is possibly how it has become so well established on Kawau Island.
Flower Colours
Cream
Year Naturalised
1980
Origin
Australia and scattered in tropics
Control Techniques
<b>Disposal Method</b><br>Hand pull or dig out seedlings (watchout for the spines), destroy fruiting adults. Plant only males, or remove fruiting panicles if the trees are desired.<br><br><b>Preferred Control</b><br>Its obvious - better not to plant it. and use another palm species that does not set viable seed instead.<br><br>
Reason For Introduction
Ornamental
Life Cycle Comments
Long-lived tree
Reproduction
Exclusively by seed
Seed
Fleshy fruit enclosing a hard nut
Dispersal
Bird dispersed and by gravity
Tolerances
Cold sensitive
This page last updated on 26 Mar 2010