February 11, 2011

Ravenala madagascariensis:

Traveler’s-Tree is ideal for creating an exotic, tropical effect with its very large, banana-like leaves, each up to nine feet long and held in fan-shaped formation, and the unusual, small, white flowers which are held erect in canoe-shaped bracts. Leaves are usually seen tattered and torn from exposure to the wind. Traveler’s-Tree will reach a height of 30 feet and a spread of 18 feet, growing at a moderate rate. It makes a nice tropical accent in a large landscape, growing too large for most modest-sized yards. The common name is derived from the fact that weary travelers would quench their thirst on the rainwater collected in the enlarged sheaths at the base of the leave.