of Strelitzia reginae (Image: Wolfgang Stuppy) Each flower comprises three, upright, orange outer tepals and three, highly modified, vivid blue inner tepals. Two of the inner tepals are joined together in a structure resembling an arrowhead with the third tepal forming a nectary at the base of the flower. The stamens have long thin filaments surrounded by the arrowhead structure with whitish anthers that emerge from the top of the arrowhead. When a pollinator, usually a bird, lands on the arrowhead in search of the copious nectar, the anthers are levered clear of the flower and pollen is deposited on the feet or breast of the pollinator, which then carries the pollen to another flower. The fruit is a leathery capsule containing numerous small seeds, each with an orange aril (an outgrowth from the seed similar to the red sheath (mace) around fresh nutmeg seeds) and an oil body, possibly attractive to birds which may help to distribute the seeds. Uses Bird-of-paradise flower is highly-prized and widely cultivated as an ornamental. The flowers are good for cutting and make an exotic addition to floral displays. Individual flowers last for about a week, but a single boat-shaped bract will produce several flowers in succession. When not in flower, the plant still has a striking appearance due to the large glaucous leaves which resemble those of banana plants. Millennium Seed Bank: Seed storage Kew's Millennium Seed Bank Partnership aims to save plant life world wide, focusing on plants under threat and those