One of the most special and beautiful plants at the Bason Botanic Gardens is Strelitzia caudata. This tree-sized “bird of paradise” is to be found in the Homestead Garden, alongside the succulent area.

Of all the strelitzias (four or five species and a few forms/cultivars), S. caudata is the most striking. It is bigger and more robust but also not as crowded as S. nicolai or S. alba. The flowers on all three of these, the tree strelitzias, to me seem very similar. But the arrangement of the leaves, whilst coming from the same drawing board, is distinctive. Strelitzia alba and S. caudata are both very uncommon in New Zealand. S. nicolai is now everywhere, which is wonderful.

Most folk think the tree strelitzias are bananas but they’re not even in the same family. Bananas belong to the Musaceae family. Strelitzias belong to the Strelitziaceae. Another member of this family is the traveller’s palm, Ravenala madagascariensis, with large fan-like leaves, often seen in the tropics.

Our Bason’s Strelitzia caudata has an interesting history. It was grown from seed which was obtained from Chiltern Seeds, England, as a swap for some of Vonnie Cave’s lapageria seed. (If you
have a spare day and are as strong as a horse, you can propagate from division.) It was planted about 30 years ago and grew well. Unfortunately, a few years ago, a luddite, for some unfathomable reason, cut it down. But, halleluiah, it regrew! So, in a few years, we’ll be able to re-admire this wonderful strelitzia.