Siam Villa Garden: Traveller's Tree

English Name: Traveller's Tree, Traveller's Palm or East-West Palm

Scientific Name: Ravenala Madagascariensis Sonn.

Family: Strelitziaceae

Native Region: Madagascar, South Africa

It has been given the name "traveller's palm" because the sheaths of the stems hold rainwater, which supposedly could be used as an emergency drinking supply for needy travellers. However, the water inside the plant is murky, black and smelly and should not be consumed without purification. Another plausible reason for its name is that the fan tends to grow on an east–west line, providing a crude compass.

The enormous paddle-shaped leaves are borne on long petioles, in a distinctive fan shape aligned in a single plane (distichous). The large white flowers are structurally similar to those of its relatives, the bird-of-paradise flowers Strelitzia reginae and Strelitzia nicolai, but are generally considered less attractive, with a green bract. These flowers, upon being pollinated, produce brilliant blue seeds. In tropical and subtropical regions, the plant is widely cultivated for its distinctive habit and foliage. As the plant grows older, it progressively loses the lowest or oldest leaves and reveals a sturdy grey trunk. Of the four forms, varieties or subspecies, the largest is the "Bemavo", from the hills of eastern Madagascar, which can be 100 feet (30 metres) in height with a trunk 2 feet (60 cm) thick. The foliar fan consists of 20 to 35 leaves, each as much as 36 feet (11 metres) in length.

The traveller’s palm is very commonly planted for ornamental purposes. The leaves are arranged into 2 rows, giving the impression of a gigantic fan. The vernacular names are an indication of the alleged use by travellers, who are said to have drunk rain water accumulated in the basal cup of the petiole and in the flower bracts. However, this water is often rendered undrinkable by infestation with mosquito larvae and contamination by detritus.

Ravenala madagascariensis is economically important locally along the east coast of Madagascar, where the leaves are used for roofing, the petioles for walls and the bark for floors in houses. In parts of India, the stem is used in house construction, the leaves for packing material and for roofing, and the midribs and petioles for hut walls.

Sugar can be extracted from the sap of the trunk. The seeds are edible, but mealy, and the edible arils are tasteless. The seed oil is sometimes used for cooking, and is reported to be antiseptic. The pith from the trunk is sometimes used as a fodder for livestock.