# Strelitzia > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Strelitzia > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Strelitzia.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strelitzia > Source revision: 1320400002 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Strelitzia larger.jpg | taxon = Strelitzia | authority = [Banks](/source/Joseph_Banks){{cite web |url= https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:37365-1 |title= Strelitzia Banks |author= |date=n.d. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=July 15, 2022}}{{cite web |url= https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/8W3VC |title= Strelitzia Banks |author= |date=n.d. |website=Catalogue of Life |publisher=Species 2000 |access-date=July 15, 2022}} | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text | type_species = ''[Strelitzia reginae](/source/Strelitzia_reginae)'' }} [[File:Strelitzia reginae MHNT.BOT.2009.13.52.jpg|thumb|''[S. reginae](/source/Strelitzia_reginae)'' fruit capsules and seeds – [MHNT](/source/MHNT)]] '''''Strelitzia''''' {{IPAc-en|s|t|r|ɛ|ˈ|l|ɪ|t|s|i|ə}}''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607, [Sunset Books](/source/Sunset_Books) is a genus of five species of [perennial plant](/source/perennial_plant), native to [South Africa](/source/South_Africa). It belongs to the plant family [Strelitziaceae](/source/Strelitziaceae).{{cite web|title=Tropical Flower Guide|url=http://tropicalflowerguide.com/bird-of-paradise-tropical-flowers.html|access-date=30 November 2012}} A [common name](/source/common_name) of the genus is '''bird of paradise flower/plant''', because of a resemblance of its flowers to [birds-of-paradise](/source/bird-of-paradise). In South Africa, it is commonly known as a '''crane flower'''. Two of the species, ''[S. nicolai](/source/Strelitzia_nicolai)'' and ''[S. reginae](/source/Strelitzia_reginae)'', are frequently grown as [houseplant](/source/houseplant)s.{{cite web|title=Our House Plants - Bird of Paradise |url=http://www.ourhouseplants.com/plants/strelitzia |access-date=18 July 2014}} It is the [floral emblem](/source/floral_emblem) of the [City of Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles%2C_California){{Cite web |date=2024-11-14 |title=On the precipice of turning 40, I sometimes wonder: Where can one find paradise? |url=https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/image/story/2024-11-14/la-ig-bird-of-paradise-la |access-date=2025-10-26 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} and is featured on the reverse of the South African [50-cent coin](/source/Coins_of_the_South_African_rand). == Taxonomy == The genus was named by [Joseph Banks](/source/Joseph_Banks) in honour of the British queen [Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz](/source/Charlotte_of_Mecklenburg-Strelitz).{{Cite web|date=2017 |title=Strelitzia reginae Banks|url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:798194-1|website=Plants of the World Online| language=en |access-date=27 May 2021}}{{Cite web|date=August 2011|title=Strelitzia reginae|url=http://pza.sanbi.org/strelitzia-reginae |website=pza.sanbi.org |access-date=27 May 2021}} == Description == The species ''S. nicolai'' is the largest in the genus, reaching 10 m (33 ft) tall, with stately white and blue flowers;{{cite book |last=Eliovson |first= Sima |title=Shrubs, trees, and climbers|year=1981 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Yg_AAAAYAAJ&q=strelitzia+nicolai |access-date= 12 September 2009 |publisher= Macmillan South Africa |isbn= 0-86954-011-4}} the other species typically reach {{cvt|2.0|to|3.5|m}} tall, except ''S. caudata'', which is a tree of a typically smaller size than ''S. nicolai''. The [leaves](/source/leaf) are large, {{cvt|30|to|200|cm|ftin}} long and {{cvt|10|to|80|cm|ftin}} broad, similar to a [banana leaf](/source/banana_leaf) in appearance, but with a longer [petiole](/source/Petiole_(botany)), and arranged strictly in two ranks to form a fan-like crown of [evergreen](/source/evergreen) foliage. The flowers are produced in a horizontal [inflorescence](/source/inflorescence) emerging from a stout [spathe](/source/spathe). == Biology and propagation == They are [pollinated](/source/pollination) by [sunbird](/source/sunbird)s and [blue-faced honeyeater](/source/blue-faced_honeyeater)s, which perch on and drink from the spathe. The weight of the bird when standing on the spathe opens it to release the [pollen](/source/pollen) onto the bird's feet, which is then deposited on the next spathe it visits. It is believed to be the only genus of plants pollinated by the feet of birds.{{ cite book | last= Bright | first= Michael | date= 2001 | title= 1000 Wonders of Nature | location= London | publisher= Reader's Digest Association, Ltd. | page= 268 | isbn= 0-276-42614-2 }} ''Strelitzia'' species lack natural insect pollinators; in areas without sunbirds, plants in this genus generally need hand pollination to successfully set seed.{{cite book |last1=Ogren |first1=Thomas |title=The Allergy-Fighting Garden |date=2015 |publisher=Ten Speed Press |location=Berkeley, CA |isbn=978-1-60774-491-7 |page=200}} ==Species and hybrids== Five species are recognised, although one—''[S. juncea](/source/Strelitzia_juncea)''—has been shown to be genetically nested within another, ''S. reginae''. It is possibly a mutation that is in the process of speciating.{{cite journal |last1=Cron |first1=Glynis V. | first2=Cary |last2=Pirone| first3= Madelaine | last3=Bartlett | first4= W. John | last4=Kress | first5= Chelsea | last5=Specht |title=Phylogenetic Relationships and Evolution in the Strelitziaceae (Zingiberales) |journal=Systematic Botany |date=2012 |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=606–619 |doi=10.1600/036364412X648562|s2cid=17046806 }} {| class="wikitable" |- ! Image !! Scientific name !! Common name!! Native distribution |- |120px || ''[Strelitzia alba](/source/Strelitzia_alba)'' ([syn.](/source/synonym_(taxonomy)) ''S. augusta'') || White bird of paradise || [Garden Route](/source/Garden_Route) along the southernmost coastal regions of the [Eastern](/source/Eastern_Cape) and [Western Cape](/source/Western_Cape)s in [South Africa](/source/South_Africa) |- |120px || ''[Strelitzia caudata](/source/Strelitzia_caudata)'' || Mountain strelitzia || [Chimanimani Mountains](/source/Chimanimani_Mountains) of [Zimbabwe](/source/Zimbabwe) south to [Mozambique](/source/Mozambique), the [Northern Provinces](/source/Northern_Provinces) of South Africa, and [Eswatini](/source/Eswatini) |- |120px || ''[Strelitzia nicolai](/source/Strelitzia_nicolai)'' || White bird of paradise or giant bird of paradise; wild banana; blue-and-white strelitzia || [Mozambique](/source/Mozambique), [Botswana](/source/Botswana), [Zimbabwe](/source/Zimbabwe), and Eastern South Africa from the [Great Fish River](/source/Great_Fish_River) northwards to [Richards Bay](/source/Richards_Bay) |- |120px || ''[Strelitzia reginae](/source/Strelitzia_reginae)'' (syn. ''S. parvifolia'') || Strelitzia, bird of paradise, or crane lily || South Africa (the [Cape Provinces](/source/Cape_Provinces) and [KwaZulu-Natal](/source/KwaZulu-Natal)) |- |120px || ''[Strelitzia juncea](/source/Strelitzia_juncea)'' (Ker Gawl.) || African desert banana{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070311032521/http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/wcsp/namedetail.do?accepted_id=267251&repSynonym_id=267256&name_id=267251&status=true&checklist=monocots ''Strelitzia juncae'']}}, [Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew](/source/Royal_Botanic_Gardens%2C_Kew)|| South Africa near [Uitenhage](/source/Uitenhage), [Patensie](/source/Patensie), and just north of [Port Elizabeth](/source/Port_Elizabeth) |- |} *''[Strelitzia × kewensis](/source/Strelitzia_%C3%97_kewensis)'' ([artificial hybrid](/source/Hybrid_(biology)) between ''S. reginae'' and ''S. augusta'') ==Allergenicity== Plants in the genus ''Strelitzia '' produce no wind-borne [pollen](/source/pollen), and have an [OPALS](/source/Ogren_Plant_Allergy_Scale) allergy scale rating of 1, meaning a very low risk of causing allergic reaction. ==Journal== ''Strelitzia'' is also the name of the botanic journal of the Pretoria-based National Botanical Institute,{{cite book |title=Strelitzia. |language=English |date=1994|oclc=478273483 }} which has since been converted into the South African National Biodiversity Institute ([SANBI](/source/South_African_National_Bioinformatics_Institute)). The ''Strelitzia'' journal replaced ''Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa'' and ''Annals of the Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens''.{{cite web |title=Strelitzia |url=https://www.sanbi.org/biodiversity/science-into-policy-action/biodiversity-information-management/sanbi-graphics-editing/strelitzia/ |website=SANBI |date=23 March 2018 |access-date=22 August 2021}} == References == {{Reflist}} == External links == * {{Commons category-inline|Strelitzia}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q147888}} {{Authority control}} Category:Strelitziaceae Category:Zingiberales genera Category:Taxa named by Joseph Banks --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Strelitzia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strelitzia) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strelitzia?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.