Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Strelitzia reginae - Bird of Paradise

Strelitzia reginae (Bird of Paradise) is very popular as an ornamental plant. This clump was bought during my working trip to Cameron Highlands. I was there to capture some images of our outreach programme to the rural areas for the production of the Ministry's coffee table book.


I was thorougly enchanted by the flowers. They stand above the foliage at the tips of long stalks. The hard, beak-like sheath from which the flower emerges is termed the spathe. This is perpendicular to the stem, which gives it the appearance of a bird's head and beak. It makes a sturdy perch for the sunbirds.  It was rather expensive but I just can't leave the nursery without it.

The flowers, which emerge one at a time from the spathe, consist of three brilliant orange sepals and three purplish-blue petals. Two of the blue petals are joined together to form an arrow-like structure. When the sunbirds sit to drink the nectar, the petals open to spill pollen over their feet, thus aiding in pollination.

The plant grows to about 6 feet tall, with large, strong leaves produced on petioles up to 3 feet long. The leaves are evergreen and thick. In the background are the white flowers of Wrightia Religiosa (Water Jasmine).

The flowers last about a fortnight before it looked like this.


While transporting the clump to my new house, I saw this pupa on the undrside of one of the long leaf blade. I then tied two leaf blades loosely together to protect it. Unfortunately when I reached my destination, it was no where to be found. I hope it can complete its life cycle.


12 comments:

  1. What lovely flowers - so tropical! A shame about the chrysalis. I wonder what it was going to turn into? So, are you moving house and starting up a new garden?

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    1. I bought this clump from Cameron Highlands where the climate is much cooler. There they flourish even by the roadsides and this gave me the inspiration to cultivate it in my garden. I planted it in a container in partial shade where it grew bigger but no flowers. It was only when I moved it to a bright location that it started to bloom regularly.

      Yes, I finally managed to find a place in the city with a decent plot of land, and a corner lot too.

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  2. I have had a strelitzia in my garden for years now, and it has just sat there. I heard that they do not like to be transplanted, but I suspect it is missing something where it is. It might be lacking in sunshine - gosh when I looked at your photos i just want mine to flower so badly :(

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    1. As I've mentioned in my response to Nick's comments, it prefer a more sunny spot to bloom. In my new home I have planted it in the ground with full sunlight. Perhaps you could give it a try.

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  3. Such a lovely flower! Are you moving house? Hope to see your new garden soon! ;)

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    1. I hope to move in by June this year. Will be doing some posts later.

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  4. I love strelitzia, although I've seen it only in Munich Botanic Gardens Conservatory. It was gorgeous view! Really the flowers seem to be strange birds!
    You're lucky to have this plant in your home, Elsie!

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    1. The clump is so precious to me that I dare not try to split it up, so it grew bigger and bigger. One of these days, I would like to try doing some amputation of the rhizomes.

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  5. Beautiful flower. I used to plant this many years ago. I love seeing the ones grown in landscaped areas with huge healthy blooms, just like the ones in your garden. Makes an impressive sight.

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    1. I hope to find out how to make it bloom more regularly. So what happen to yours and how did it meet its demise.

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  6. Lovely photos, I have wanted a Strelitzia for many years – and last month a got one! It is just a tiny baby plant as I could not afford to buy a big one so I will probably have to wait a few years for any flowers. I plan to have it indoors during the winter and in the garden the rest of the year, hopefully it will get enough sun there to produce flowers for me eventually!

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    1. I feel its a great plant to have in our garden. It gives the garden a slight touch of paradise ;)

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