Bird of Paradise Flower, Trinidad:
Bird of Paradise is a common name for Strelitzia, a genus of five species of perennial plants, native to South Africa, because of a resemblance of its flowers to birds-of-paradise. The genus is named after the duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, birthplace of Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom. In South Africa it is commonly known as a the crane flower and is featured on the reverse of the 50 cent coin. It is the floral emblem of the City of Los Angeles. They are frequently grown as house plants. Plants in the genus Strelitzia produce no windborne pollen, and have an OPALS allergy scale rating of 1 (considered “allergy-fighting”).