Lovely picture, Sibdas ji. If you give the place & date of picture as per posting guidelines, it will be really nice.
Here are some extracts from Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strelitzia_reginae *Strelitzia reginae* is a monocotyledonous<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monocotyledon> flowering plant <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowering_plant> indigenous to South Africa <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa>. Common names include * Strelitzia*, *Crane Flower* or *Bird of Paradise*, though these names are also collectively applied to other species in the genus *Strelitzia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strelitzia> *. Its scientific name commemorates Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_of_Mecklenburg-Strelitz>, queen consort <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_consort> of King George III <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_III_of_the_United_Kingdom>. The plant grows to 2 m (6½ ft) tall, with large, strong leaves<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf>25-70 cm (10-28 in) long and 10-30 cm (4-12 in) broad, produced on petioles <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petiole_(botany)> up to 1 m (about 40 in) long. The leaves are evergreen <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreen>and arranged in two ranks, making a fan-shaped crown. The flowers <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower> stand above the foliage at the tips of long stalks. The hard, beak-like sheath from which the flower emerges is termed the *spathe <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spadix>*. This is placed perpendicular to the stem, which gives it the appearance of a bird's head and beak; it makes a durable perch for holding the sunbirds<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunbird>which pollinate <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollination> the flowers. The flowers, which emerge one at a time from the spathe, consist of three brilliant orange sepals <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepal> and three purplish-blue petals <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petal>. Two of the blue petals are joined together to form an arrow-like nectary. When the sunbirds sit to drink the nectar, the petals open to cover their feet in pollen<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollen> . Other links: http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantqrs/strelitziareginae.htm & http://www.floridata.com/ref/S/stre_reg.cfm (pictures & details). On Sat, Dec 6, 2008 at 9:41 PM, sibdas ghosh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Beautiful flower of Sterilitzia regiae-(spelling?) > > > > -- With regards, J.M.Garg "We often ignore the beauty around us" Creating Awareness about Indian Flora & Fauna: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jmgarg1 For learning about our trees & plants, please visit/ join Google e-group (Indiantreepix) http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix?hl=en --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "indiantreepix" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
