One of New Zealand's most iconic native trees. A tree that looks like a giant grass. The cabbage tree has grass-like leaves and a tall, branching form that makes it instantly recognisable. Early European settlers used the leaves as cabbage, giving the tree its common name. The Māori name Tī kōuka refers to its use for food and fibre. A tree that fed the people. A tree of the swamp and the coast. The cabbage tree grows in wetlands, along riverbanks, on coastal cliffs, and in open forest. It is extremely hardy, tolerating waterlogging, drought, salt spray, and fire. It is often the first tree to regrow after a fire, its underground stems sending up new shoots. A tree that rises from the ashes. The trunk is soft and fibrous, reaching up to twenty metres in height, often branching into several heads. The leaves are long, narrow, and sword-shaped, up to a metre in length, forming a dramatic crown. The flowers are the story – massive, creamy-white spikes that appear in late spring, filling the air with a sweet scent. The fruit is small, white, and berry-like, eaten by birds. The cabbage tree has been hit hard by sudden decline disease, a phytoplasma that causes the tree to die back. Thousands of trees have died, especially in the north. But the tree persists, regenerating from seed and from underground stems. A tree that refuses to give up. To see a cabbage tree is to see a survivor. The swamp is wet. The cabbage tree stands, grass-like leaves rustling, fibrous trunk dark against the sky. The disease has killed its neighbours. It is still standing. It does not know it is a survivor. It just grows. It has been here for millennia. It will be here as long as the wetlands remain wet.