What I always thought was a “Bird of Paradise” is actually called “Strelitzia” after the duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in Germany, birth place of Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III of the United Kingdom. I have seen a portrait of this Charlotte, and all I can say is that she doesn’t at all resemble the blossom, whereas it is not too difficult to use one’s imagination and see the flower’s resemblance with an exotic bird. Incidentally, the American city of Charlotte, North Carolina, is named after the same person and is located in Mecklenburg county! There are five species of Strelitziae; this one is clearly a Strelitzia reginae, also known as (aha!) Bird of Paradise. In South Africa, where these beauties come from, the flower is also referred to as a crane lily.