We are at the Trees Florida Chapter ISA conference this week in Fort Lauderdale and it inspired our Tree of the Week, which is the Traveler’s Palm (Ravenala madagascariensis)! These are a common site in Florida, especially in the south, but they are actually not a palm at all, but spectacular palm-like imposter related to bananas and bird of paradise. They are native to Madagascar, and they grow to be enormous, with huge leaves sprouting from long stems in a flat, fan-shaped pattern like a peacock’s tail. It has been given the name “traveler’s palm” because the sheaths of the stems hold rainwater, which supposedly could be used as an emergency drinking supply for needy travelers!