?Cordyline fruticosa
Foliage
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Asparagales Family: Laxmanniaceae Genus: Cordyline Species: C. fruticosa
Binomial name
Cordyline fruticosa (L.) A. Chev.

Cordyline fruticosa (Ti plant, also known as the good luck plant), is an evergreen flowering plant in the family Laxmanniaceae, formerly treated in the family Agavaceae. It is native to tropical southeastern Asia, Papua New Guinea, northeastern Australia and across Polynesia to Hawaii. It is present in New Zealand, where it is thought to have been introduced from Polynesia by Māori. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta - rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta - zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta - trimerophytes Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are the dominant and most familiar group of land plants. ... Orders Base Monocots: Acorus Alismatales Asparagales Dioscoreales Liliales Pandanales Family Petrosaviaceae Commelinids: Arecales Commelinales Poales Zingiberales Family Dasypogonaceae The Monocotyledons or monocots are an extremely important group of flowering plants, dominating great parts of the earth and with many economically important plants. ... Families according to the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group Agapanthus Agavaceae Alliaceae Amaryllidaceae Aphyllanthaceae Asparagaceae Asphodelaceae Asteliaceae Blandfordiaceae Boryaceae Doryanthaceae Hemerocallidaceae Hyacinthaceae Hypoxidaceae Iridaceae Ixioliriaceae Lanariaceae Laxmanniaceae Orchidaceae Ruscaceae Tecophilaeaceae Themidaceae Xanthorrhoea Xeronema Asparagales is an order of monocots which includes a number of families of non-woody plants. ... genera see text Laxmanniaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. ... Cordyline is a genus of woody plants in the family Agavaceae. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as , (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[1] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... A Silver Fir shoot showing three successive years of retained leaves In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant which retains its leaves year-round, with each leaf persisting for more than 12 months. ... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are the dominant and most familiar group of land plants. ... genera see text Laxmanniaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants. ... Genera See text Agavaceae is a family of plants that includes many well-known desert and dry zone types such as the agave, yucca, and Joshua tree. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 This article is about the wider region in the Pacific. ... This article is becoming very long. ... The word Māori refers to the indigenous people of New Zealand and to their language. ...

It is a woody plant growing up to 4 m tall, with leaves 30-60 cm (rarely 75 cm) long and 5-10 cm wide at the top of a woody stem. It produces 40-60 cm long panicles of small scented yellowish to red flowers that mature into red berries. A woody plant is a vascular plant that has a stem (or more than one stem) that is lignified to a high degree. ... White-fruited Rowan (Sorbus glabrescens) corymb; note the branched structures holding the fruits. ... For other uses, see Flower (disambiguation). ... Several types of berries from the market, but of those shown, only blueberries are true berries. ...

Cultivation and uses

The ti plant is most closely associated with Polynesia, where the ti plant proved to be very versatile, especially for its large leaves. Ti leaves were woven into roof thatch, clothing (especially dance dress), and other items. Its starchy rhizomes were eaten as food (very sweet when the plant gets older) and used medicinally, and its leaves were used to wrap food and other items. The leaves are also used for lava sledding. A number of leaves are lashed together and people ride down hills on them. Carving from the ridgepole of a Māori house, ca 1840 This article is about the wider region in the Pacific. ... Thatching is the art or craft of covering a roof with vegetative materials such as straw, reed or sedge. ... It has been suggested that folding clothes be merged into this article or section. ... Starch is a complex carbohydrate which is insoluble in water, it is used by plants as a way to store excess glucose. ... Ginger rhizome In botany, a rhizome is a usually-underground, horizontal stem of a plant that often sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. ...

In ancient Polynesia the ti plant was thought to have great spiritual power; only high priests and chiefs were able to wear leaves around their necks. To this day in Hawaiʻi, planting ti leaves near one's house is thought to bring good luck. It is also a very popular type of lei. This article is becoming very long. ... Woman wearing a lei and making the shaka sign Lei is a Hawaiian word for a garland or wreath. ...

It is also grown as an ornamental plant, with numerous cultivars available, many of them selected for green or reddish or purple foliage. It was also used to outline borders between land properties (for which its alternative name: terminalis). An ornamental plant is a plant that is grown for its ornamental qualities, rather than for its commercial or other value. ... This Osteospermum Pink Whirls is a successful cultivar. ...

Although it is pronounced the same way, the ti plant is not to be confused with the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. Tea leaves in a Chinese gaiwan. ... Binomial name Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze Camellia sinensis is one of the two major varieties or strains of the tea plant, the plant species whose leaves and leaf buds are used to produce tea (The other being Camellia Assamica). ...

Synonymy

• Convallaria fruticosa L. (basionym)
• Asparagus terminalis L. nom. illeg.
• Cordyline terminalis (L.) Kunth
• Cordyline terminalis var. ferra Baker
• Dracaena terminalis L. nom. illeg.
• Dracaena terminalis Rich.
• Terminalis fruticosa (L.) Kuntze
• ki (Hawaiʻi)
• sī (Tonga)
• tī (Māori)

Carl Sigismund Kunth (1788-1850) was a German botanist. ... Louis Claude Marie Richard (September 19, 1754 - June 6, 1821) was a French botanist. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Māori or Te Reo Māori, commonly shortened to Te Reo (literally the language) is an official language of New Zealand. ...

External links

• Flora of China: Cordyline fruticosa