Strelitzia reginae Banks ex Dryand.
Frost-tender, clump-forming perennial with lance-shaped leaf blades on long stalks and purple- and orange-flushed green spathes with flowers with orange or yellow calyces and blue corollas in winter and spring. To 2m. [RHSE, Hortus].
Horticultural & Botanical History
‘It is well known to many Botanists, and others, who have experienced Sir Joseph Banks’s well known liberality, that previous to the publication of the Hortus Kewensis he made a new genus of this plant, which had before been considered as a species of Heliconia, and named it Strelitzia, in honour of our most gracious Queen Charlotte. […] Introduced to the royal garden at Kew by Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. in the year 1773, where it lately flowered. […] It has been found that when the roots have been confined to the narrow limits of a pot, the plant has rarely or never flowered, but that when the roots have by accident extended into the [surrounding soil], it has readily thrown up flowering stems.’ [BM t.119/1790]. LBC no.1535/1831. ABR pl.432/1805.
History at Camden Park
Listed only in the 1850 and 1857 catalogues [B. 421/1850]. Strelitzia reginae was part of a consignment sent from Kew by John Bidwill in November 1843 [AJCP]. This is the probable source.
Notes
Published Jan 20, 2009 - 04:44 PM | Last updated Jul 31, 2010 - 04:36 PM
| Family | Strelitziaceae |
|---|---|
| Category | |
| Region of origin | South Africa |
| Synonyms | |
| Common Name | Bird of paradise flower, Crane flower |
| Name in the Camden Park Record | Strelitzia reginae |
| Confidence level | high |
