"compact" Ravenala madagascariensis, Traveler's Tree

[Eric in Orlando]

These Traveler's Trees (Ravenala madagascariensis) are growing at an office by Lake Ivanhoe just north of downtown Orlando. They have been here for about 20 years and have only grown to about 12ft high. The leaves are smaller with shorter petioles. They are a very nice, smaller scaled specimens.

 

 

 

[Tracy]

Very attractive.   If one could be sure that a particular plant would remain compact like this it would fill a nice space.   Any idea if it is a stable variant?

[andrebazhen]

Looks awesome. Anybody knows how to get this mega bonsai? Constrained roots? Pruned roots?

[Than]

I guess they only become huge in ideal climates. In northern India they are much smaller than in Indonesia.

[iko.]

I would have thought this plant is surrounded by concrete and so, it has probably bonsai itself. 

[bubba]

Local group taken today. Twenty (20) miles north of Orlando is amazing!:

[John2468]

34 minutes ago, bubba said:

Local group taken today. Twenty (20) miles north of Orlando is amazing!:

Those look like Strelitzia nicolai to me.

[bubba]

Eric,

These are 20 footers in PB. My understanding was that Sn maxed at 6 feet. Do you see anything that suggests Sn? All we ever get down here are Rm's in vast quantities.

[TropicsEnjoyer]

On 5/27/2025 at 12:06 AM, bubba said:

Eric,

These are 20 footers in PB. My understanding was that Sn maxed at 6 feet. Do you see anything that suggests Sn? All we ever get down here are Rm's in vast quantities.

These are definitely Strelitzia n. The petioles and leaves are too short and compact to be Ravenala. Also it is a dark green slightly glaucous while ravanala I see tend to be brighter green. 

And no, Strelitzia do not max out at 6 feet, but they grow slower so very tall ones are not as common. I have seen 20 ft ones quite a few times though.

Anddddd if you check in the background you see one trunk with a white flower, dead giveaway that it’s Sn. Rm have large green flower spathes.

[bubba]

Thank you for your correction. I need to look closer at these for the clues. Our area generally is loaded with Rm but the Sn is a beautiful species!