Abstract

Strelitzia reginae (Bird of Paradise) is a South African ornamental plant widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions. While naturalized populations have been reported outside its native range, no such cases have been documented for Australia. Drawing on the first known occurrence of a bird-dispersed S. reginae growing epiphytically in a Moreton Bay fig (Ficus macrophylla) in Manly, New South Wales, this paper examines the nature of birds pollinating and dispersing the plant in an alien ecological setting. Crowd-sourced data from social media and citizen science platforms identified 14 bird species visiting S. reginae flowers, with various honeyeaters acting as effective pollinators. Seven bird species were observed feeding on or transporting seeds, suggesting viable mechanisms of dispersal. The study highlights the ecological significance of spontaneous establishment, the role of native birds in facilitating reproduction and dispersal, and the value of leveraging citizen-sourced observations to detect emerging naturalized species.

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