Just like all the other members of the genus Strelitzia, the Giant bird of paradise plant is endemic to South Africa. The name Strelitzia is derived from Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the duchy where Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom was born. This tropical rain forest flower is a truly extravagant species and resembles the equally flamboyant Bird of Paradise (), another inhabitant of the rich South African rainforest.
If you want to keep this tropical rain forest flower and have pets, you have to be careful. Dogs sometimes like to eat Strelitzia nicolai, but they are very sensitive to the seeds. Vomiting and abdominal pain are the two most common symptoms of Strelitzia nicolai poisoning in dogs.
Strelitzia nicolai can reach a length of 10 metres and produce leaves that are 2 meter long and 80 centimetres broad. The flowers grow in a horizontal inflorescence that emerges from a heavy spathe. This flower can only be pollinated birds since the flower will be closed until a heavy enough bird uses the spathe as a perch. Sunbirds frequently use the spathe to rest on when they visit, and the weight of these birds make the flower open up and release its pollen. The sunbird will get pollen all over its feet and unknowingly carry it to the next Strelitzia nicolai.
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