''Strelitzia'' is a genus of five species of perennial plants, native to South Africa. It belongs to the plant family Strelitziaceae. The genus is named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom, who was born a princess of the house of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. A common name of the genus is bird of paradise flower/plant, because of a resemblance of its flowers to bird-of-paradise, birds-of-paradise. In South Africa, it is commonly known as a crane flower and is featured on the reverse of the Coins of the South African rand, 50-cent coin. It is the floral emblem of the Los Angeles, California, City of Los Angeles; two of the species, ''Strelitzia nicolai, S. nicolai'' and ''Strelitzia reginae, S. reginae'', are frequently grown as houseplants.

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 2.0 to 3.5 m tall, except ''S. caudata'', which is a tree of a typically smaller size than ''S. nicolai''. The leaf, leaves are large, 30–200 cm long and 10–80 cm broad, similar to a banana leaf in appearance, but with a longer Petiole (botany), petiole, and arranged strictly in two ranks to form a fan-like crown of evergreen foliage. The flowers are produced in a horizontal inflorescence emerging from a stout spathe.

Biology and propagation

They are pollination, pollinated by sunbirds, which perch on and drink from the spathe. The weight of the bird when standing on the spathe opens it to release the pollen onto the bird's feet, which is then deposited on the next spathe it visits. ''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—''Strelitzia juncea, 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'' (Hybrid (biology), hybrid between ''S. reginae'' and ''S. augusta'')

Allergenicity

Plants in the genus ''Strelitzia '' produce no wind-borne pollen, and have an Ogren Plant Allergy Scale, OPALS allergy scale rating of 1, meaning a very low risk of causing allergic reaction.

Etymology

The genus was named by Joseph Banks in honour of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, queen consort of George III.

Symbolism

Strelitzia's flower language has many meanings, including success, freedom, immortality, loyalty, love, thoughtfulness and optimism. It is also a symbol of the 9th wedding anniversary Freedom - Strelitzia symbolizes freedom and overcoming difficulties, reminding people not to stick to the present, but to see a wider world Loyalty - Strelitzia symbolizes loyalty to a lover, and people present Strelitzia to their partners on the 9th anniversary of marriage to express their wholeheartedness Optimism - Strelitzia chinensis symbolizes optimism and positive energy, and inspires people not to give up when they are in trouble Success - Strelitzia is a symbol of success in life and is given when congratulating someone on an important moment in life such as graduating from college

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 (South African National Bioinformatics Institute, SANBI). 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