An Estuary walkway

This is a stand of young Cabbage trees along one of the Estuary walkways. Of the genus Cordyline, they were called Ti Kouka by the Maoris who used the root as a nutritious food. Early European settlers used the young leaves from the centre of these heads as a substitute for cabbage – hence the common name. Apparently the trunk of the cabbage tree is so fire-resistant that the settlers used it to make chimneys for their huts.

It makes me think of a primeval forest.