Ravenala madagascariensis Seeds | Traveller’s Palm

Bright blue Traveller's Palm seeds, hard and angular, surrounded by fibrous orange arils — Traveller’s Palm (*Ravenala madagascariensis*): Strelitziaceae, native to the forest edges of eastern Madagascar.

LATIN NAME: Ravenala madagascariensis

COMMON NAME: Traveller’s Palm

Plant Profile

Traveller’s Palm is not a palm at all but a giant herb of the bird-of-paradise family, growing ten to twenty metres tall on a single slender trunk. Its leaves are arranged in two ranks in a single plane, forming a huge fan that can be three metres across, and each leaf base swells where it meets the trunk to hold rainwater.

It is endemic to Madagascar, where it grows along forest edges and in disturbed ground in the east of the island, and it has been planted throughout the tropics as an ornamental. The white flowers, held in boat-shaped bracts, are followed by woody capsules containing bright blue seeds.

Science & Biotechnology

The water held in the leaf bases is real, though it is not always clean enough to drink, and the plant’s common name comes from that habit rather than from any proven use by travellers. The fan-shaped crown is a striking example of phyllotaxis, with the leaves arranged in a single plane rather than a spiral.

Pollination in Madagascar is carried out by the black-and-white ruffed lemur, which feeds on the nectar and transfers pollen between flowers, and by sunbirds; the plant is one of the few whose pollination has been shown to depend on a primate. The blue seeds are dispersed by birds and by water. The seeds are also dispersed by water in the wet season, which is how the species reaches new forest edges downstream.

Uses & Benefits

In the tropics it is planted as a specimen tree for its architecture, and its leaves are used for thatch and for wrapping food in Madagascar. The seeds are edible when cooked, and the pulp around them is sweet, though the fruit is mostly seed and fibre.

It is a plant for large gardens only: the crown is enormous and the trunk can reach twenty metres, so it needs space and a frost-free climate. In cooler regions it is grown in a conservatory when young, though it soon outgrows any indoor space. The trunk is fibrous and light, and in Madagascar it is hollowed out for water containers and for simple boats.

Growing from Seed

Sow fresh seed at 25 to 30 °C in a rich, free-draining mix, covering it lightly. Germination takes four to eight weeks, and the seed should not be allowed to dry out; soaked seed germinates more evenly.

Grow the seedlings in bright, humid conditions and pot them on regularly, since the plant makes a deep root system quickly. Plant out in a sheltered, frost-free position with deep soil and plenty of water in the growing season. Young plants need staking until the trunk is firm; after that they need almost no attention. Water young plants through their first two dry seasons, and site them where the crown has room to turn without touching a wall.

Our Take

A tree-sized herb with the boldest crown in the tropics, and a name that comes from a useful habit. Only for gardens with room and a warm winter.

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