Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae) The bird of paradise, also known as the reginae, is a herbaceous species native to South Africa. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant due to the distinctive shape of its flower. This rhizomatous herbaceous plant reaches an average height of 1.2 meters. The flowers emerge above the foliage at the end of a long spathe. The seeds have orange arils and an oily body. It is pollinated by birds, which, when perched on the arrow-shaped tepal to collect nectar, move the anthers, releasing the pollen onto their legs or breast. It is cultivated at the Gran Piedra Botanical Garden in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, at an altitude of 1,225 meters above sea level.