5 Strelitzia nicolai Seeds - White Bird of Paradise or Giant Bird of Paradise Tree - Indigenous

Common Names: Natal Wild Banana, Giant Bird of Paradise or White Bird of Paradise

Strelitzia is a genus of five species of perennial plants, indigenous to South Africa. The name Strelitzia was given to honour Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III of England. She was from the house of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. There has been some confusion over which Nicholas the specific epiphet honours, but original description in Gardenflora states that the name nicolai is in honour of Grand duke Nikolai Nikolaievich the elder, third son of Czar Nicholas I of Russia, and not for the Czar. 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. Known species include Strelitzia alba, Strelitzia caudata, Strelitzia nicolai, Strelitzia reginae and Strelitzia juncea.

Strelitzia nicolai, commonly known as the Natal wild banana, White Bird of Paradise , Wild Banana or Giant Bird of Paradise, are evergreen banana-like plants, related to the well-known crane flower, Strelitzia reginae, that have erect woody, palm like stems reaching a height of 12 m and the clumps formed can spread as far as 4 m. The 1.8 m long leaves are grey-green and arranged like a fan at the top of the stems. Although not related to the true bananas or the wild banana Ensete ventricosum, the leaves and growth habit of Strelitzia nicolai are somewhat similar and probably account for the common name. The inflorescence is composed of a dark blue bract, white sepals and a bluish-purple "tongue". The entire flower can be as much as 18 cm high by 45 cm long and is typically held just above the point where the leaf fan emerges from the stem.

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