Recently while sitting in my garden observing various visitors – a little field mouse bolting for cover as a mongoose came stepping by, hadeda ibis trailing across the lawn in search of worms, my attention was diverted to the tree strelitzia’s (Strelitzia alba) blooms and a Cape sugarbird perching to drink nectar. I dashed to get my camera to record the event in a happy glow of anticipation. For a while i’ve been following the exciting developments of biomimicry and the innovative designs being inspired by nature. See a previous post on the structure of the dragonfly’s wings. Janine Benyus’s excellent book published in 1997 “Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature” raised publicity around the subject of science studying nature for design solutions. Coincidentally i came across Sarah van der Walt’s http://www.biomimicrycapetown.co.za for the latest innovations of the industry here in the Mother City.
Back to the action in my garden – i wanted to capture the effect of the elasticity of the petals which bend to expose the anthers and then smoothly counter bend to close the nectary. In this example the strelitzia flower is aligned perpendicular to it’s stalk providing a perfect perching spot for birds. Notice the mid-rib extending just beyond the bird’s left foot? It’s flexible design allows the petals to ‘pop’ open and expose the anther filaments covered in pollen. While it imbibes the sweet nectar the bird’s feet are covered in pollen which will then be transferred to the next flower in the process of pollination.
There are five different species of strelitzia. Also growing in pride of place in my garden is the classical beauty – Strelitzia reginae with it’s gorgeous orange and purple/blue flowers encased in a sturdy colourful spathe as featured below –
Out of curiosity at seeing how the petals spring open I decided to dissect a couple of the flowers to reveal how the structure of the joined petals operated under the weight of the bird. A midrib runs freely along a groove so that it flexes and allows the parting of the two halves to pop open. When the bird flies off the petals realign again.
In 2011 an interesting project headed by Simon Schleicher of the University of Stuttgart and a team of researchers came up with the “Flectofin” – a hingless louvre system, based on the studies and principles abstracted from the strelitzia plant. Neat!
As i watch the birds flitting between the blooms in this garden at the bottom end of Africa, how awe inspiring it is to reflect on the genius of nature.
Nature on the Edge 
Wonderful article! Thanks Liz!
Thanks for that Mary, very encouraging to have positive feedback 🙂
What strikingly beautiful flowers, thank you for sharing them.
My pleasure having the opportunity to showcase these marvellously architectural flowers 🙂
An interesting read.
Thanks Anne.
How very interesting. Love your bisected flowers too and hope you will do more 🙂
Yes!! i took to the knife again and went through the spathe to find chambers and tubes and eggs in the ovary. Felt a bit intrusive though, like trespassing!
Fascinating and interesting post, Liz!
I’ve never seen a black and white strelitzia – I like it more than the colored species, it’s elegant and understated. Dressed in black-tie?
🙂 I like that description of formal attire. It’s very elegant, with touches of pink and purple and blue. Just gorgeous. The blooms are also substantial in size and girth. The tree grows to a height of 10 meters.
Wow, big, not a houseplant then!
Beautiful photographs – such clarity and sharpness. I’ve long loved strelitzia.
Alison
Thanks for your comments Alison. They’re quite the most ‘structural’ of blooms and with an extraordinary ‘physique’. I’ve been paying close attention to them and admire how they’ve adapted to preserve their chances of reproduction.
What A great story. Thank you for the details that go with your excellent photos.
Thank you Clare, i enjoyed doing this post and discovering nature’s hidden complexities 🙂
Thanks for a truly enriching post, Liz!
Encouraging feedback….thanks de Wets!
What a lovely study!
Thanks Purple, it’s quite the most striking flower – with an architectural build 🙂
Liz, what a great lesson you just gave on the way Nature designs are both purposeful and beautiful. Biomimicry… that’s new to me. I jumped over to the blog you mentioned and decided to follow Sarah. She has a lot of ideas that will take some time to consider in a reflective way. Thanks for expanding my nature awareness in a new direction. Very cool.
~Jane
Isn’t it exciting how much is being developed?! All that bioengineering for medical purposes too. Who’d have thought of spinach being used as a vascular system to grow heart tissue – the complexity of plant systems is impressive.
Thank you for that Liz. I love strelitzias, for me they are the perfect embodiment of tropical and exotic beauty in plant. It’s fascinating to learn the intricacies of their mechanics and their purpose. Enjoy your new studies, hope to learn more from future posts!
They are truly striking, and amazing how once one tunes into a subject how it comes to the fore. Thanks, more info coming…..