cabbage tree

American  

noun

1. any tropical tree or treelike plant having leaves or edible shoots suggestive of cabbage.

2. an Australian palm tree of the genus Livistona, especially L. australis.

---

cabbage tree British  

noun

1. Also called: ti.  a tree, Cordyline australis, of New Zealand having a tall branchless trunk and a palmlike top

2. any of several other similar trees of the genus Cordyline

---

Etymology

Origin of cabbage tree

First recorded in 1715–25

Example Sentences

As the helicopter darted through a small hole in the low-lying clouds, we were greeted by a riot of green, the dense beech forests punctuated with lighter-colored cabbage tree palms.

From Washington Post • Jan. 8, 2015

There is a cabbage tree next to his house.

From Time Magazine Archive

The hills are covered with the cabbage tree, and the log-wood and gum-wood trees.

From The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism. Volume 1 by Whymper, Frederick

As soon as he saw the lady, the cabbage tree hat was raised in a flourish, the horse was reined in, the man off his saddle and the bridle hitched to a post.

From Lady Bridget in the Never-Never Land: a story of Australian life by Praed, Campbell, Mrs.

Another beautiful species met with in the low grounds of Illawarra, is the fan palm, or cabbage tree, and another equally graceful in its outline, is called by the natives Bangalo.

From Peter Parley's Tales About America and Australia by Wilson, T.