Singapore and tropical Asia, Japan and temperate East Asia
Season
winter, spring, year-round
Shape
single flower
Identification
An evergreen perennial to 2 m with large strong leaves 25–70 cm long and 10–30 cm broad on stalks up to a metre, in two ranks making a fan. The flowers stand above the leaves on long stalks: a hard beak-like spathe set at right angles to the stem looks like a bird's head and beak and gives the pollinating sunbirds a firm perch; the flowers emerge from it one at a time, three bright orange sepals and three purplish-blue (or white) petals, two of them joined into an arrow-like nectary, and when a sunbird sits to drink the third petal opens to release the anther and dust its feet with pollen. Named for Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, consort of George III.
Habitat
River banks and coastal scrub at home; an ornamental outdoors in the tropics and subtropics, a pot and house plant in temperate regions, and an important cut flower.
Distribution
Native to the Cape Provinces and KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa; common in Singapore's parks and gardens, outdoors in southern China (Guangdong, Fujian, Yunnan, Taiwan), a glasshouse, house and cut flower in the north and in Japan (gokurakuchōka).
Season and behaviour
All year in the tropics, most in winter and spring; November to April in southern China. One inflorescence lasts weeks as the flowers emerge in turn.
Photography tips
These are the FilmAnalysis editors' notes, not content from the sources.
The bird's head in profile is the only angle: at eye level, the beak-like spathe and raised orange crest against a dark background or sky; half a stop under for orange, the blue petals the accent. Macro for the arrow-shaped blue nectary and the exposed anther. A sunbird (Singapore has them) perched on the spathe to drink is the best picture, waited for with a long lens at 1/1600 s. A cut stem on plain colour is minimal.
Photographic styles
A bird's head in profile; a sunbird perched on the spathe.
Similar species
Giant bird of paradise, Strelitzia nicolai (tree-sized, white and blue); heliconias (boat-shaped bracts, upright or hanging); scarlet ginger lily.
Related badge
None yet. No validated photo recognition exists for this species, so no badge is tied to it: a name in the encyclopedia is not evidence in a photograph.
The illustration is original FilmAnalysis artwork. The photograph is from Wikimedia Commons; its licence and author are under it.
Why it is listed: this species comes from the Flower checklist (GBIF backbone and Wikidata verified). Names follow the GBIF backbone and Wikidata; the facts follow the sources below; photo recognition is not offered.
