|
 Strelitzia
reginae is indigenous to South Africa. Common names include
Strelitzia, Crane Flower or Bird of Paradise.
The plant grows to 2 m tall, with large, strong leaves 25-70 cm long
and 10-30 cm broad, produced on petioles up to 1 m long. The leaves
are evergreen and arranged in two ranks, making a fan-shaped crown.
The flowers stand above the foliage at the tips of long stalks. The
hard, beak-like sheath from which the flower emerges is termed the
spathe. This is placed perpendicular to the stem, which gives it the
appearance of a bird's head and beak; it makes a durable perch for
holding the sunbirds which pollinate the flowers. The flowers, which
emerge one at a time from the spathe, consist of three brilliant
orange sepals and three purplish-blue petals. Two of the blue petals
are joined together to form an arrow-like nectary. When the sunbirds
sit to drink the nectar, the petals open to cover their feet in
pollen.
It is propagated by division or from seeds, and is a low-maintenance
plant that is easy to grow in the garden; it is fairly tolerant of
soil conditions and needs little water once established. If cared
for well, they will flower several times in a year. They do well in
full sun to semi-shade
Patience is required when growing this plant as it is slow-growing
and may take a while to bloom. To get a mature plant from seed takes
three to five years There is also a yellow cultivar of this flower
known as Mandela's gold strelitzia |
