Traveler’s Tree

The enormous, 20-35, paddle-shaped leaves, up to 11 m long, are borne on long petioles, in a distinctive fan shape aligned in a single plane (distichous). Large, white flowers with a green bract. Seeds brilliant blue. As the plant grows older, it progressively loses the lowest or oldest leaves and reveals a sturdy grey trunk.

Native to Madagascar. Cultivated around the world in warm regions as an ornamental.

No known.

It has been given the name “Traveler’s tree” because the sheaths of the stems hold rainwater, which supposedly could be used as an emergency drinking supply for needy travelers. However, the water inside the plant is murky, black and smelly and should not be consumed without purification.