Volume 9 > Part 2 > Year 2008 > Page 172 > Strelitziaceae > Strelitzia

Strelitzia reginae Banks ex Aitonwfo-0000562066

Hort. Kew. 1: 285. 1789. Plate XVI: 1.

Accepted Name : This is currently accepted.

Description : Stout, rhizomatous herb up to about 1 m. Leaf blade ovate-oblong, 50–60 cm long. Inflorescence pedunculate from the centre of the leafy shoot about the same height as the leaves, ending in a coarse, boat-formed, spathaceous bract, green outside orange inside; upper part of peduncle often also yellowish-orange. Flowers overall yellowish-orange, or pure yellow in some cultivars, with the sagittate structure dark violet.

Thailand : Commonly grown in gardens and parks. Hardly naturalized.

Distribution : Africa, Southern-western Cape region. Introduced in Kew Gardens in 1773. Now widely grown in all tropical and subtropical regions.

Vernacular : Paksa sawan (ปักษาสวรรค์)(Bangkok).

CommonName : Bird of paradise, Crane flower.