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Cordyline fruticosa

species of plant

Specimen drawers, botanical folios and brass scientific instruments under study light
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 14, 2026
Entity authorityQ2717614
Source-derived summary

Cordyline fruticosa is an evergreen flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae. It is known by a wide variety of common names, including ti plant, palm lily, and cabbage palm.

The plant has been cultivated in Asia and Oceania, with a number of uses including food and traditional medicine. It is of great cultural importance to the traditional inhabitants of the Pacific Islands and Maritime Southeast Asia.

Description

It is a palm-like plant growing up to 4.5 metres (15 feet) tall with an attractive fan-like and spirally arranged cluster of broadly elongated leaves at the tip of the slender trunk. The leaves range from red to green and variegated forms. It is a woody plant with leaves 30–60 centimetres (12–24 inches) (rarely 75 cm or 30 in) long and 5–10 cm (2–4 in) wide at the top of a woody stem. It produces 40–60 cm (16–24 in) long panicles of small scented yellowish to red flowers that mature into red berries.

Taxonomy

Cordyline fruticosa was formerly listed as part of the families Agavaceae and Laxmanniaceae (now both subfamilies of the Asparagaceae in the APG III system).

Names

The reconstructed Proto-Malayo-Polynesian word for ti plant is *siRi.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Cordyline fruticosa” as species of plant. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA sound reference starting point where classification, measurement and the date of the underlying evidence remain visible. The current 195-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Cordyline, fruticosa and species can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of plant. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2717614. The Library of Congress control number is sh2002004750. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.

Critical limits

Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
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Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Cordyline fruticosa”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Cordyline fruticosa primary sources, Cordyline fruticosa archive and Cordyline research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Cordyline fruticosa”?
  2. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
  3. Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Cordyline fruticosa” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.