Ravenala madagascariensis (Traveller's Tree)

One of the most known treelike banana relates, which is cultivated as ornamental tree in the tropics worldwide. Most remarkable is the leaf arrangement, which gives the appearance of a giant fan to the entire plant. The name „Traveller's Tree" comes from the fact that after rainfalls the water collects into the ends of the petioles for a long time, which can give theoretically water for travellers in case of drought, but the water is not drinkable because full of dirt and dead insects. The long petioles catch the rain and this flows to the grounds of the petiols, which are connected together and with the trunk in a rising angle. If you puncture the petiol, the water flows out, thus or similarly the history says. It can be propagated easily by seeds and is growing very fast, does not take frosts. Our exemplar was planted in 2008.