Strelitzia Reginae - Bird of Paradise

Strelitzia reginae is one the most popular horticultural perennials around the world. It flowers for long periods with its vivid orange and bright purple/blue inflorences and is an ideal pot plant and cut flower subject.

The crane flower is a tufted, evergreen, stemless perennial herb up to 1,5m tall and 2m in diameter. The roots are fleshy and finger-like and ± 25 mm in diameter. The leaves are opposite and arranged fan-like in one plane, banana-like with the leaf blade 500 x 100 mm, and the margins can sometimes be red-edged.

The flowers have orange sepals and blue/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).