Strelitzia reginae
The theme for Floria 2010 is Heliconia. At the Heliconia Garden, the Heliconia Society has put up a massive display of showy and spectacular flowers under the order of Zingiberales. Zingiberales has 8 families, namely:-
1. Cannaceae (Cannas)
2. Costaceae (Spiral Gingers)
3. Lowiaceae
4. Marantaceae (Arrowroot Family)
5. Musaceae (Bananas)
6. Strelitziaceae (Bird of Paradise)
7. Zingiberaceae (Gingers)
8. Heliconiaceae (Heliconias)
I have photographed quite a number of species and will be showcasing them one by one later as a single post is not enough to do justice on this fascinating group of exotic plants that are often associated with the humid Tropics and Tropical styled Gardens.
In this post, I start with Strelitzia which is a genus of 5 species of perennial plants that are native to South Africa. Strelitzias are often confused with Heliconias although they are from different families.
Strelitzias look like Birds of Paradise, the exotic birds with attractive plumage and estounding beauty native to the Maluku (Spice) Islands of Indonesia and Eastern Australia. Heliconias in turn look like Strelitzias, hence they are also called False Birds of Paradise. The common name for Strelitzia is Bird of Paradise Flower. It is also known as Crane Flower in South Africa.
Strelitzias are named after the duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, birthplace of Charlotte, Queen Consort of King George III of the United Kingdom. (Source: Wikipedia).
In Los Angeles, strelitzias are extensively planted and regarded as the emblem of the city. Source: http://www.plantzafrica.com/ , this link.
Scientific name: Strelitzia nicolai Regel & K. Koch
Common name: White or Giant Bird of Paradise Flower, Wild Banana, Blue-and-white Strelitzia
Family: Strelitziaceae
The leaves are similar to banana leaves. Its flowers are produced in a horizontal inflorescence and pollinated by sunbirds.
“Floria 2010 P8 - Bird of Paradise Flower at Heliconia Garden”, a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on July 26th, 2010.
I think this is the dwarf version Strelitzia reginae
Common name: Bird of Paradise Flower, Crane Flower
Family: Strelitziaceae
Most of the plants in this garden has a display label but I can't find the name label of this plant. The display board beside the plant is an explanation about Strelitzias.
Bird of Paradise flowers are highly valued as cut flowers and in Malaysia, they are expensive, therefore not every florist carries their stock. It forms only 0.02 % of our total cut flowers production.
They thrive in the cool temperatures of the tropical highlands. In the lowlands of Malaysia, it is very difficult to get them to flower.
My next and final post on Floria 2010 will be on the outdoor corporate showcase gardens.
This is my entry for Today's Flowers # 103, a meme which opens every Sunday, 2pm GMT. My grateful thanks to Today's Flowers team members; Luiz Santili Jr, Denise in Virginia, Laerte Pupo and Sandy Carlson. To participate and view other gorgeous flowers around the world, click here.
