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Cabbage tree is rated fire resistant overall, though one laboratory classification is less favorable than the others.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand places Cordyline australis in its low-to-moderate flammability band. That band sits on the favorable side of its seven-level scale, which is grounded in shoot-flammability testing. Fire authorities in Catalonia also rate the species “recommended.” That recommendation assumes species-specific care. The guide evaluates garden suitability using fuel structure, maintenance, origin, and invasiveness as well as fire research and expert fire-service experience.
A 2016 laboratory study gives the main caution. After shoots were air-dried for 24 hours, its cluster analysis placed cabbage tree in the moderate flammability category, which does not support a clear resistant or avoid verdict under that study’s scale. A separate trait database reports an ignition frequency of 87.5 percent for predried branches tested on a grill. That number describes how often those samples ignited under that particular setup; the database does not set a threshold that turns it into a recommendation.
Taken together, the practical classifications favor cabbage tree, while the laboratory results show that it can still ignite under controlled test conditions. For this tree in the asparagus family, “fire resistant” is a favorable comparative rating, not a claim that every test produces low flammability.
Form
tree
Rated in
Catalonia, Spain; Global; New Zealand
Uses
ornamental
On this lot
1. Fire evidence and conditions
Fire evidence
Fire-resistant — location does not change the cited classification.
1 sourced range or established record. This is not an invasive warning.
USDA hardiness
3. Legal, ecological, and broader status
Legal-list status
Seed-list status
Reported invasive here
Broader regional context
Federal context
How to read this page
The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.
Where its sources say to plant it
Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating.
They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.
Guía de pirojardinería: suitable inside or outside the 25-metre maximum-risk zone [girona-2020-iuf-25m-suitability] (with its recommendation)
The evidence
Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself
(a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or
republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.
Recommends (2)
Low Flammability Plants directory — Fire and Emergency New Zealand (plant flammability testing at Lincoln University) · 2026 · original sourcePrimary evidenceLab-testedlineage: lincoln-nz-tree
Cordyline australis is rated “RECOMENDADA” by the guide's qualitative IUF garden-suitability method. The method assumes species-specific care and integrates fire evidence with fuel structure, maintenance, origin, invasiveness, and expert fire-service experience.
8 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.
Primary study Cui2020a: Cui, X., Paterson, A. M., Wyse, S. V., Alam, M. A., Maurin, K. J. L., Pieper, R., ... Curran, T. J. (2020a). Shoot flammability of vascular plants is phylogenetically conserved and related to habitat fire-proneness and growth form. Nature Plants, 6, 355-359.
Shared row context: plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Cui2020a-1; sampling ND.
“ignition frequency (%): 87.5”
FLAMITS record 1365; Ignitability measurement.
“maximum sample temperature (°C): 284.9”
FLAMITS record 1559; Combustibility measurement.
“burning duration (s): 15.88”
FLAMITS record 1753; Sustainability measurement.
“estimated burnt biomass (%): 10”
FLAMITS record 1947; Consumability measurement.
Primary study Wyse2016: Wyse, S. V., Perry, G. L. W., O'Connell, D. M., Holland, P. S., Wright, M. J., Hosted, C. L., ... Curran, T. J. (2016). A quantitative assessment of shoot flammability for 60 tree and shrub species supports rankings based on expert opinion. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 25, 466-477.
Shared row context: plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Wyse2016-1; sampling ND.
