Definition

Noun 1. A family of monocotyledonous flowering plants: The Strelitzia family is a taxonomic family of perennial, mostly woody plants characterized by large, banana-like leaves and distinctive, often bird-like flowers. It is native to tropical South America, South Africa, and Madagascar.

Usage Notes

• This is a scientific/botanical term. In everyday language, people are more likely to refer to specific genera within this family, such as (bird of paradise) or (traveler's palm).
• The term is used in formal botanical contexts, such as classification, academic writing, and horticulture.

Examples

• The Strelitzia family includes some of the most ornamental plants in horticulture.
• Botanists study the evolutionary relationships within the Strelitzia family.
• Several members of the Strelitzia family are important as exotic landscape plants in tropical and subtropical climates.

Advanced Usage

• Taxonomic Classification: The family's scientific name is Strelitziaceae. In some older or alternative classification systems, these plants were included in the banana family, Musaceae.
  • Example: The genus Strelitzia gives its name to the family Strelitziaceae.

Variants and Related Words

• Strelitziaceae: The formal, Latin-derived scientific name for the Strelitzia family.
• Strelitzia: The most well-known genus within this family, commonly called "bird of paradise" plants.
• Ravenala: A genus within the Strelitziaceae, containing the "traveler's palm" or "traveler's tree".
• Phenakospermum: A genus within this family, native to South America.

Synonyms

• Family Strelitziaceae: The direct scientific synonym.

Different Meanings / Contexts

This term has a single, specific meaning in botany. There are no common idiomatic or figurative uses for "strelitzia family".

Noun

1. woody plants with erect stems of tropical South America and South Africa and Madagascar; in some classifications included in the family Musaceae