Strelitzia nicolai
Regel & Koern.
White bird-of Paradise
(c) wendyhitchcock, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Peter Small, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Peter Small
(c) graham_g, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
What to Eat
Edible parts: Seeds, Seeds - coffee
The seeds are cooked as food or used as a coffee substitute.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant. It needs moderate moisture and a seasonally dry climate. It needs a fertile, humus-rich, well-drained soil. It needs full sun. It can tolerate salt spray. It is damaged by frost. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. Melbourne Botanical Gardens. In Queen Sirikit BG.
Africa, Asia, Australia, Botswana, East Africa, Eswatini, Indonesia, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, SE Asia, Slovenia, South Africa*, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Thailand, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
How to Identify
A tree up to 9 m tall. Often they occur in clumps. They sucker from the base. The leaves are 1.8 m long and 0.6 m wide. They are normally tattered into strips by the wind. The flower head is 45 cm long. It has grey, blue, white and pink colours. Several flower sheaths grow out of one large flower sheath. This large flower sheath can be 30 cm long and deep red or blue. The fruit is a 3 lobed woody capsule. It is 5-7 cm long. The woolly layer around the seed is bright orange.
Nutrition Score: 47/100
| Part | Moisture | kJ | kcal | Protein | Vit A | Vit C | Iron | Zinc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seeds | 1.9 | 2720 | 651 | 3.6 | — | — | — | — |
How to Grow
Plants can be grown from seeds. Plants can also be grown from suckers.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Strelitzia nicolai, commonly known as the wild banana or giant white bird of paradise, is a species of banana-like plants with erect woody stems reaching a height of 7–8 m (23–26 ft), and the clumps formed can spread as far as 3.5 m (11 ft). Strelitzia nicolai is among the few plants which have been verified to contain the pigment bilirubin, which is usually found in animals.
Production
Plants grow quickly.
Names & Synonyms
Inkamanga, Isigceba, Isigude, Natal strelitzia, Orjaška strelicija, Wild banana
References (22)
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