Travellers Palm Ravenala madagascariensis
by Sharon Mau
Title
Travellers Palm Ravenala madagascariensis
Artist
Sharon Mau
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Ravenala madagascariensis
Traveller's Tree
Traveller's Palm
It is a member of the bird-of-paradise family, Strelitziaceae.
Ravenala madagascariensis is the sole member of its genus, and is closely related to the southern African genus Strelitzia and the South American genus Phenakospermum. Some older classifications include these genera in the banana family - Musacea . .
It has been given the name "traveller's palm" because the sheaths of the stems hold rainwater, which can be used as an emergency drinking supply,specially for the traveller and also because the fan tends to grow in an east-west line, providing a crude compass.
The enormous paddle-shaped leaves are borne on long petioles, in a distinctive fan shape aligned in a single plane. The large white flowers are structurally similar to those of its relatives, the bird-of-paradise flowers Strelitzia reginae and Strelitzia nicolai. In tropical and subtropical regions, the plant is widely cultivated for its distinctive habit and foliage . .
The traveller's palm has paddle-shaped leaves which are lined symmetrically on a plane and this symmetry gives it a fan-like shape.
The colour of the palm varies slightly from the tip of the leaves which are green, to the end of the leaf stem which is yellow . .
It has a trunk which develops as it matures. During its early years its trunk is covered by the leaf bases, but as it grows older, it progressively loses the lowest or oldest leaves and reveals a sturdy grey trunk . .
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Uploaded
November 30th, 2011
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