Commonly called the Wild Banana, Strelitzia nicolai got its name from Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III of England. Even though it’s not exactly a banana, its leaves and how it grows look a lot like one. This tree grows up to 12m tall and about 4m wide. You can usually find it in forests and bushes near the coast where it deals well with strong salty winds.

Moreover, it has a fan-shaped crown and smooth, woody stems that grow close together. The big leaves can be up to 2m long. When the wind blows, the shiny grey-green leaves look like giant feathers. The flowers are white with blue petals and have 5 purplish-blue sheaths that look like little boats. The whole flower looks like a bird’s head with a white crest and a purple beak. It flowers all year, but mostly in Spring and Summer. The fruit is a hard capsule that splits open to reveal black seeds with bright orange fluff on one end. This happens mostly in autumn and winter.

Considering its aggresssive roots, you should not plant Strelitzia nicolai too close to walls. Although it can handle drought, it doesn’t like severe frost. Nevertheless, it’s a good choice for decorating walls and buildings or adding some tropical feel to gardens and lawns. Additionally, indoors, it likes bright spaces.

Furthermore, S. nicolai encourages ecological interactions, attracting sunbirds with its nectar-rich flowers while providing food for monkeys, who relish the soft parts of the flowers and the orange arils on the seeds.