On 27 Jun 2004 06:58:39 -0700, (Yukinoroh)
wrote:

Thanks for the explanation !
The leaves don't look tapered, so I think it is a Strelitzia nicolai.
Though, I hadve doubts about alba/augusta.
Snip
Are there any other characteristics that could difference the two
(alba/augusta and nicolai) ?

To the uninitiated, it is very difficult to make out any great
differences between the two species when young. However, if you look
at the base of the leaf blade where it joins the leaf stem, in S.
alba, the blade tapers into the stem or joins it without going back
upon itself (the correct term for this leaf blade base is 'obtuse').
In S. nicolai, the blade extends down slightly beyond where it joins
the leaf stem ('cordate').

Some authorities class S. alba as being the biggest, whilst others
consider S. nicolai as being the largest - it matters little, they
are both massive growing herbs and not ideally suited to pot or
container culture after a few years.

The probability remains that you have S. nicolai - it is by far the
most widely distributed of the two. S. alba is rarely offered outside
the sub tropics and is usually only seen as a botanical gardens
specimen in temperate regions.

In the UK, there has been quite a lot of interest in S. nicolai in
recent years. This is due to its potential as a garden plant in warm,
sheltered gardens. It grows out of doors at St. Ives in Cornwall and
a few are trying it out in sheltered gardens in London. I've not yet
tried it (due to lack of space) and still only grow the common 'Bird
of Paradise' - Strelitzia reginae as a garden plant.


Dave Poole
Torquay, Coastal South Devon UK
Winter min -2°C. Summer max 34°C.
Growing season: March - November