Cordyline stricta, known as the Slender Palm Lily, or Narrow-leaved Palm Lily (not to be confused with C. congesta

Cordyline congesta

Cordyline congesta, commonly known as narrow-leaved palm lily is an evergreen Australian plant. A rare shrub to 3 metres tall found on the margins of rainforest, and in riverine scrub and moist gullies in eucalyptus forest...

, which is also known by this common name) is an evergreen

Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...

 Australian plant. A shrub to 5 metres tall found in wet sclerophyll

Sclerophyll

Sclerophyll is the term for a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes . The word comes from the Greek sclero and phyllon ....

 forest and rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

, usually on the coastal lowlands. From near Bilpin, New South Wales

Bilpin, New South Wales

Bilpin is a small town on the historic Bells Line of Road in the City of Hawkesbury local government area in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, New South Wales. In 2006, the town had a population of 843 people.Bilpin is known as "Land of the Mountain Apple"...

 further north to Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

. C. stricta has become naturalised

Naturalisation (biology)

In biology, naturalisation is any process by which a non-native organism spreads into the wild and its reproduction is sufficient to maintain its population. Such populations are said to be naturalised....

 in Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

.

Description

Leaves are long and thin, 30 to 50 cm long, 1 to 2 cm wide. Mauve flowers form on panicle

Panicle

A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....

s, 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.

Ecological

Cordyline stricta is a host plant

Host (biology)

In biology, a host is an organism that harbors a parasite, or a mutual or commensal symbiont, typically providing nourishment and shelter. In botany, a host plant is one that supplies food resources and substrate for certain insects or other fauna...

 for Yellow-streaked Swift

Sabera dobboe

The Yellow-streaked Swift or Miskin's Swift is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. It is found in Queensland, Papua New Guinea, the Aru Islands, Irian Jaya and the Kei Islands.The wingspan is about 30 mm....

 caterpillar

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

s.