Traveller's Palm

Ravenala madagascariensis

Shrub (Palm like )

Habit: Shrub (Palm like )
Found in India: Telangana, West Bengal, Gujarat & more
Flowering: September-May

How to identify Traveller's Palm

Identify Traveller's Palm by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.

Look for a shrub (palm like ) habit.
Check the distinctive field mark: Huge fan of paddle-shaped leaves arranged in a single flat plane (traveller's palm).
Confirm flower colour: White.
In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: September-May.
In India, compare location records such as Telangana, West Bengal, Gujarat, Goa and nearby regions.
Confirm it sits within the Strelitziaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Traveller's Palm.

Plant Details

Scientific name: Ravenala madagascariensis
Genus: Ravenala
Family: Strelitziaceae
Habit: Shrub (Palm like )
Native to: Madagascar
Distribution: Planted in tropics
Found in India: Telangana, West Bengal, Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh
Flowering & fruiting: September-May
Conservation status: Not Evaluated (NE)

Flower & fruit characters

Flower colour: Whiterecorded“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 les” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Characters marked “recorded” are for Traveller's Palm itself; the rest are typical of the Strelitziaceae family — flowering plants only.

Local Names

Bengali: পান্থপাদপ
Tamil: நீர்வாழை
Malayalam: രാവേനല
Marathi: पांथस्थचे झाड

About Traveller's Palm

Traveller's Palm (Ravenala madagascariensis) is a species in the Strelitziaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Telangana, West Bengal, Gujarat and 4 other states. Flowering and fruiting run from September to May.