94 



PLANTS OP NEW ZEALAND 



from them an intoxicating drink was also obtained. The leaves 

 are eaten by cattle. They are also used in thatching, and a 

 rough kind of cloth is woven from the fibres. The genus is 

 found over the greater part of the tropical old world, but 

 chiefly in New Zealand, Australia, and the islands of the 

 Pacific. There are several interesting species found in New 

 Zealand some tall and palm-like, others stemless, sending 



Fig. 22. Luzuriaga marginata (3 nat. size). 



up their long, narrow leaves straight from the crown of the 

 plant just above the soil. 



The cabbage-tree forms one of the most striking objects of 

 the New Zealand bush scenery. Its inappropriate name is 

 said to have been given by the early settlers, who used the 

 young and tender heads in place of cabbage. Palm Lily, 

 however, is a better term. The long bare stems, with 

 their bushy heads of grass-like leaves, cannot be confounded 

 with those of any other tree, and give to the landscape a 



