Sometimes tree-like suckering woody plants without secondary growth. Leaves alternate, 2-ranked, sheathed at the base; blades rolled in bud, pinnately veined. Flowers bisexual, irregular, lateral or terminal in the axils of large bracts. Sepals 3, free, petal-like. Petals 3, free or united. Fertile stamens 5-6, free. Ovary inferior, of 3 united carpels, 3-chambered. Fruit a loculicidal capsule containing seed with ornamental arils.
A family noted for its bold, often architectural foliage and the spectacular Bird-of-Paradise flowers.This family is sometimes placed in the Musaceae.
Conspicuous mostly 2-ranked arrangement of leaves; bird-like spectacular bisexual colourful flowers; fertile stamens 5 or 6; seed with ornamental arils.
3 genera and 6-7 species from tropical and subtropical South America, South Africa and Madagascar.
Source: (2005). Strelitziaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 5. Flowering plants. Monocotyledons. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
