Strelitzia reginae (bird-of-paradise flower)

Strelitzia reginae is native to the southern and eastern parts of the Cape Province and northern Natal in South Africa. It has been introduced into parts of central and tropical South America and is widely cultivated as an ornamental.

Bird-of-paradise flower is highly-prized and widely cultivated as an ornamental. The flowers are good for cutting and make an exotic addition to floral displays. Individual flowers last for about a week, but a single boat-shaped bract will produce several flowers in succession. When not in flower, the plant still has a striking appearance due to the large glaucous leaves which resemble those of banana plants.

Kew's Millennium Seed Bank Partnership aims to save plant life world wide, focusing on plants under threat and those of most use in the future. Seeds are dried, packaged and stored at a sub-zero temperature in our seed bank vault.

Description of seeds: Average 1,000 seed weight = 197.96 g.
Number of seed collections stored in the Millennium Seed Bank: One.

Strelitzia reginae (Image: Richard Wilford)

In Britain, bird-of-paradise flower cannot usually be grown outside as it requires a minimum temperature of 10°C. During the winter, the plants should be kept almost dry but in summer they need plenty of water. A suitable compost can be made from one part loam, one and a half parts coir, one part grit and one part bark. The plants require regular feeding. Flowering occurs in spring and early summer and can be encouraged by keeping the plants slightly pot-bound. Hand-pollination is necessary to produce seeds, but this seldom works. For germination and initial growth, the seeds need bottom-heat of at least 21°C. Some new stocks of seed-raised plants can reach flowering size in two to three years, but individual specimens may take up to ten years. Due to the difficulty of producing seeds, Strelitzia reginae is usually propagated by dividing the plants or using suckers produced at the base. Mature plants should not be re-potted too often, as the fleshy roots can easily be damaged by disturbance.

Between April and October 2010, Kew and the British Museum brought a small corner of South Africa to the heart of London.

The South Africa Landscape celebrated a shared vision to strengthen cultural understanding and support biodiversity conservation across the world.

Strelitzia reginae (bird-of-paradise flower) was one of the star plants featured in the Landscape.

Read Kew's South Africa Landscape blog.

Watch the video and view photos of the building of the Landscape.

Neotropikey - Neotropical Strelitziaceae

Marianne North Gallery - Painting 365 - Strelitzia and Sugar Birds

Seed Information Database - Strelitzia reginae

Search Kew's databases for more information on this species