Bird of Paradise

About the Bird of Paradise

Also called crane flower. Their flower shape precisely matches the anatomy of specific sunbird species for pollination. They are the official flower of Los Angeles. Each flower has 3 bright orange sepals and 3 blue petals - one blue petal forms a tongue that holds nectar. A single plant can produce 36 flower spikes per year. They are related to bananas. They can only be pollinated by sunbirds - the petals open to release pollen only when a birds foot lands on them. They grow to 2 meters tall. Over 5 species.