Slender palm lily

Description

Cordyline stricta, known as the Slender Palm Lily, or Narrow-leaved Palm Lily (not to be confused with C. congesta, which is also known by this common name) is an evergreen Australian plant. A shrub to 5 metres tall found in wet sclerophyll forest and rainforest, usually on the coastal lowlands. From near Bilpin, New South Wales further north to Queensland.C. stricta has become naturalised in Victoria. Leaves are long and thin, 30 to 50 cm long, 1 to 2 cm wide. Mauve flowers form on panicles, 20 to 40 cm long. The flowering stem is 15 to 30 cm long. Fruit are purple to black, 10 to 15 mm in diameter. This is the only Australian species with black fruit.