Strelitzia juncea flowers

The flowers of Strelitzia juncea are structurally similar to those of S. reginae. The flowers grow on a sturdy, cylindrical scape. About five flowers succeed each other in each horizontal, leathery spathe that is shaped like a boat. The three petal-like, tapering sepals of each flower are orange; three (smaller) blue petals form the less conspicuous corolla.

Yellow and even white-flowering forms are sometimes seen. Flowering occurs from late autumn to spring. Pollination is mainly performed by sunbirds and sugarbirds. The spathes of S. juncea are positioned lower than the tips of the leaf stems, while S. reginae carries the slightly bigger flowers above the leaves.

The fruit, a three-segmented woody capsule ripens to release black, pea-like seeds. Seed dispersal is assisted by birds that feed on them (Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; Eliovson, 1984; www.plantzafrica.com).