Strelitzia Reginae Aiton is one the most popular horticultural perennial around the world and commonly found in Madeira.
Strelitzia
is a genus of five species of perennial plants, native to South Africa. Strelitzia
is named in honour of Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, from the house of
Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The specific name reginae is Latin and means ‘of the
queen'.
A common
name of the genus is Bird of Paradise flower, because of a supposed resemblance
of its flowers to the bird of paradise. In South Africa it is commonly known as
a Crane flower. The plant produces a mucilaginous substance when in bloom. The
flowers have orange sepals and blue or purple petals (May to December). The
fruit is a hard woody capsule that splits from the apex in summer (August to
February). The seeds are round, black to brown in colour with a yellow aril (a
tuft of hairs). Bees are common visitors when the spathe is in flower. Sunbirds
may be the pollinator, but this has still to be proven. The role of sunbirds in
Strelitzia pollination needs to be investigated, as they have been observed
“robbing” the flowers by taking nectar but by-passing the pollination
mechanism. Birds eat and disperse the seed.
As for its
conservation status, fortunately this plant is not threatened.
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