The Bird of Paradise Flower with the common name Strelitzia (Strelitzia reginae) is native to South America, but often used as house flower elsewhere in the world. In Tenerife they grow every garden.

Strelitzia are bird pollinated, something which is very unusual in Switzerland or Norway. And It’s great to watch the bird fly into a flower as huge as the bird itself. Strelitzia has a developed a clever mechanism to be pollinated by birds. The anther (male part of the flower) and stylus (female part of the flower) are grown together and form a spathe, where the bird can land. With the weight of the bird the spathe opens (picture) and releases pollen onto the birds feet/belly. When each visit the bird spreads the pollen and help the plant to reproduce.