Cabbage palm
With glossy green leaves spanning 3-4m in length and a trunk reaching a height of up to 30m, the cabbage tree palm, or fan palm, is one of the tallest Australian native plants. Thriving in rainforest margins along the east coast of NSW, in summer this giant palm produces striking spikes of cream flowers which resemble cabbages.
Read more about Cabbage palm
The cabbage tree palm thrives in moist sclerophyll forests and rainforest margins. The growing tip of the palm is edible, and was popular with Aboriginal people as well as early settlers. The Eora People of the Sydney Basin used the tree’s fibrous bark to make fishing lines, and its leaves for weaving and thatched roofing.
Plant facts
- Common name
- Cabbage tree palm
- Scientific name
- Livistona australis
- Conservation status in NSW
- Protected