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Heliconia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 Heliconia latispatha
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Heliconia is a genus of about 100 to 200 species of flowering plants native to the tropical Americas and the Pacific Ocean islands west to Indonesia. It is the sole genus of family Heliconiacae, but was formerly included in the family Musaceae. Common names for the genus include lobster-claw, wild plantain and false bird-of-paradise, the latter from their close similarity to the bird-of-paradise flowers (Strelitzia).
The leaves are 15-300 cm long , oblong, growing opposite one another on non-woody petioles often longer than the leaf, often forming large clumps with age. Their flowers are produced on long, erect or drooping panicles, and consist of brightly colored waxy bracts, with small true flowers peeping out from the bracts. The growth habit of heliconias is similar to Canna, Strelitzia (Bird-of-paradise), and bananas, to which they are related.
Heliconias are an important food source for forest hummingbirds, especially the hermits some of which, such as the Rufous-breasted Hermit, also use the plant for nesting.
- Selected species
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Several cultivars have been selected for garden planting, including:
- H. psittacorum L. f. x H. spathocircinata Aristeg., both species of South America, mainly Brazil.
- H. x rauliniana Barreiros = H. marginata Pettier (Venezuela) x H. bihai L. f. (Brazil).
Heliconias are grown for the florist's trade and as landscape plants. The flower of H. psittacorum, or Parrot Heliconia, is especially distinctive, for its greenish-yellow flowers and black spots bear a remarkable resemblance to a parrot's feathers.
 Heliconia wagneriana, Florida |
 Heliconia rostrata, in a botanical garden, Costa Rica |
 in a botanical garden, Costa Rica |
 Heliconia rostrata in the Northern Range, Trinidad |
 H. chartacea 'Sexy Pink' in Northern Range, Trinidad |
 H. mariae in Hawaii |
 H. rostrata at Kew Gardens, London |
 H. latispatha in Belize |
 H. latispatha flower |
 H. sp. in tropical rain forest at Escambray Mountains, Cuba |
 H. sp in tropical rain forest at Sierra Escambray, Cuba |
- Heliconias of Peru (pdf file with scientific name and photos) in Spanish