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June 23, 2005 A beautiful flower that may not be very well known to people living in snowy climes like Illinois and Wisconsin is the bird-of-paradise flower (Strelitzia reginae). This plant hails from South Africa, but in the US, it can be seen in Hawaii, Florida and especially California. The bird-of-paradise flower is the official civic flower of the city of Los Angeles, and beautiful specimens are very common in that metropolis. For example they can be seen on the grounds of the Los Angeles Public Library and those of Union Station. As charming as the name of this flower is, it is a little confusing, since there is a bird that is called the bird of paradise. Here is a beautiful picture of this flower: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Strelitzia_larger.jpg The genus Strelitzia, named irrelevantly after the birthplace of an English queen, includes at least four other species, one of which is commonly known as the giant bird-of-paradise flower (Strelitzia nicolai). While ordinary bird-of-paradise flowers grow to a height of only four or five feet, the giant grows up to thirty or forty feet. The giant also can be seen in and around Los Angeles, especially at the Los Angeles Arboretum. The flowers are very similar, but much larger. The genus Strelitizia is one of three that make up the family Strelitziaceae of the order Zingiberales. These plants are in the class Liliopsida, and as such, are monocots (monocotyledons). Monocots are easy to recognize, because the leaves tend to be long and slender, with parallel, rather than reticulate (netlike) veins. Examples are grasses, grains, palms, lilies, tulips, irises, onions and so forth. Zingiberales are so-called because the plant typical of the order is ginger (Zingiber officinale). A remarkable plant in the family Strelitziaceae is the traveller’s tree or traveller’s palm. ‘Palm’ is a misnomer, as real palms are in the order Arecales, which, however, is in the same class. The scientific name for the traveller’s tree is Ravenala madagascariensis. In the picture that can be seen at the URL next below, you can see the bird-of-paradise-like flowers of this plant, which grows to 30 or 40 feet. The banal name “traveler’s tree” is hardly worthy of this breathtaking plant, so I call it just ravenala. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Ravenala_madagascariensis_plantae_1.png Another zingiberalian family is Musaceae, which include common bananas (Musa paradisiaca), a cultigen, along with the many other species that make up the genus Musa. Bananas are very common in Hawaii, perhaps somewhat less so in Florida and California. They can also be seen widely in Central and South America. http://www.cis.nctu.edu.tw/~whtsai/Taiwan_Tours/Hwa_Tao_Yao/09%20Plants/06%20Another%20banana%20tree.jpg Often it’s hard to distinguísh among giant birds-of-paradise, ravenalas and bananas. However well-tended ravenalas maintain that lollipop shape that makes them so unique. Many, many ravenalas can be seen in Honolulu. In 1986 and 1987, a singularly beautiful specimen stood in front of Honolulu Hale, at Punchbowl and King. I guess it’s still there. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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