Strelitzia reginae Aiton

Bird of paradise, bird-of-paradise, crane flower

These beautiful but bizarre plants are native to South Africa, from Cape Province to KwaZulu-Natal. They are not found in the wild in North America. It was introduced to central and tropical South America, where it is cultivated as a popular garden plant. There is a reason for the strange shape. Bird-of-paradise is pollinated by birds, which land on the spathe and flower. This causes the stamens to protrude and paint pollen on the birds.

Plants: 3–6½′ (1–2 m) tall, stemless, forming clumps. The overall effect of the leaves and flowers is unmistakable: that of a bird’s head and beak.

Leaves: Oblong or lanceolate, 9–30 ⨉ 1¾–6″ (22–75 ⨉ 5–15 cm), bluish- or grayish-green, leathery, arranged in fan-like groups. They appear on long petioles up to 3′ (1 m) in length.

Flowers: Flowerheads are on erect stocks above the leaves, with a horizontal bract up to 9″ (22 cm) long that looks like a crane’s bill. Several orange flowers open one at a time from May to December; flowers are 3½–6″ (9–15 cm) across. In addition to the orange portion there are a set of inner fused petals that are deep blue in color. They fuse into a sharp point, a nectar dispenser.

Fruits: Round, black to brown, with a little yellow tuft of hairs.

Habitats: Strelitzia reginae occurs naturally only in South Africa along the eastern coast from Humansdorp to northern KwaZulu-Natal in coastal bush and thicket. It grows along river banks in full sun, however sometimes it occurs and flowers on margins of forest in shade.

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Strelitzia reginae description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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