Guadalupe West Indies

The travellers Palm is not a tree but a plant, which is originally from Madagascar. Although it used to be included in the banana family Musaceae, It’s not a real palm. It belongs to the family Strelitziaceae like bird-of-paradise flowers. The ravenala madagascariensis is the official name, and it is the unique member of its genus, although it’s closely related to the South American Phenakospermum and the Southern African Strelitzia. The cream-coloured flowers of the ravenala are hermaphrodites. They are pollinated by bats and lemuroids. The brown fruit is a capsule with three shells where many seeds can be found. The seeds are usually surrounded by intense blue fibres which attract the birds.

Its actual name is due to the big quantity of water that can be held in its stems and be used as an emergency drinking supply. Its huge leaves stand like a fan and their dish-shaped base retains the rainwater, which would allow the travellers to quench their thirst. In fact, if you slash the trunk with a machete at the end of the rainy season, you might collect up to one liter per slash of a very liquid sap, which taste is fairly similar to water. Moreover, the trunk can reach 10 metres and the whole plant can be up to 20 metres high. Its shape and height help to spot it from far away in case of thirst emergency.

Due to its impressive beauty, the travellers palm has become a tropical ornamental plant that everybody would like to have in the garden. It requires sun and moderate water. You’ll find travellers palms in many private gardens on the Guadeloupian archipelago, but also in a natural environment. Another symbol that travellers can’t miss!