''Strelitzia'' is a genus of five species of

perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...

s, native to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It belongs to the plant family

Strelitziaceae The Strelitziaceae comprise a family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants, very similar in appearance and growth habit to members of the related families Heliconiaceae and Musaceae (banana family). The three genera with seven sp ...

. A

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

of the genus is bird of paradise flower/plant, because of a resemblance of its flowers to

birds-of-paradise The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and eastern Australia. The family has 45 species in 17 genera. The members of this ...

. In South Africa, it is commonly known as a crane flower. Two of the species, '' S. nicolai'' and '' S. reginae'', are frequently grown as

houseplant A houseplant, also known as a pot plant, potted plant, or indoor plant, is an ornamental plant cultivated indoors. for aesthetic or practical purposes. These plants are commonly found in House, homes, Office, offices, and various indoor spaces, w ...

s. It is the

floral emblem In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used t ...

of the City of Los Angeles and is featured on the reverse of the South African 50-cent coin.

Taxonomy

The genus was named by

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English Natural history, naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the European and American voyages of scientific exploration, 1766 natural-history ...

in honour of the British queen

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her ...

Description

The species ''S. nicolai'' is the largest in the genus, reaching 10 m (33 ft) tall, with stately white and blue flowers; the other species typically reach tall, except ''S. caudata'', which is a tree of a typically smaller size than ''S. nicolai''. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are large, long and broad, similar to a

banana leaf The banana leaf is the leaf of the banana plant, which may produce up to 40 leaves in a growing cycle. The leaves have a wide range of applications because they are large, flexible, waterproof and decorative. They are used for cooking, wrappin ...

in appearance, but with a longer petiole, and arranged strictly in two ranks to form a fan-like crown of

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

foliage. The flowers are produced in a horizontal

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

emerging from a stout

spathe In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also look ...

Biology and propagation

They are

pollinated Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or butterflies; bird ...

sunbird Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly i ...

s and

blue-faced honeyeater The blue-faced honeyeater (''Entomyzon cyanotis''), also colloquially known as the Bananabird, is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae. It is the monotypic taxon, only member of its genus, and it is most closely related to hon ...

s, which perch on and drink from the spathe. The weight of the bird when standing on the spathe opens it to release the

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

onto the bird's feet, which is then deposited on the next spathe it visits. It is believed to be the only genus of plants pollinated by the feet of birds. ''Strelitzia'' species lack natural insect pollinators; in areas without sunbirds, plants in this genus generally need hand pollination to successfully set seed.

Species and hybrids

Five species are recognised, although one—'' S. juncea''—has been shown to be genetically nested within another, ''S. reginae''. It is possibly a mutation that is in the process of speciating. *'' Strelitzia × kewensis'' ( artificial hybrid between ''S. reginae'' and ''S. augusta'')

Allergenicity

Plants in the genus ''Strelitzia '' produce no wind-borne

, and have an

OPALS Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silicon dioxide, silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3% to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6% and 10%. Due to the amorphous (chemical) physical structure, it is classified as a ...

allergy scale rating of 1, meaning a very low risk of causing allergic reaction.

Journal

''Strelitzia'' is also the name of the botanic journal of the Pretoria-based National Botanical Institute, which has since been converted into the South African National Biodiversity Institute (

SANBI SANBI may refer to different South African institutions: * South African National Biodiversity Institute - carrying out research and management of South Africa's biodiversity resources * South African National Bioinformatics Institute - carryi ...

). The ''Strelitzia'' journal replaced ''Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa'' and Annals of the Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens''.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Strelitziaceae Zingiberales genera Taxa named by Joseph Banks