Commonly known as the Traveller's Palm from the Strelitziaceae Family, this broad and spreading fan-shaped palm used to be very commonly used in landscaping until the dengue fever came along. It was found that mosquito larvae can breed in the basal sheaths of the palm fronds and hence these palms were chopped down in most places.However, there are still some that are iconic, such as the ones along Beach Road, in front of Raffles Hotel and the maintenance is stepped up to ensure that mosquito breeding is inhibited.
These tall ones within the compounds of those colonial houses along the Hyderabad Road are seen by me, when I walk in from Pasir Panjang Road, almost every morning. From afar, they looked like the spreading fantails of 2 peacocks without the head and body though. A link on this palm is attached below:
