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 Heliconiaceae, but was formerly included in the family Musaceae. Common names for the genus include lobster-claw, wild plantain and false bird-of-paradise. The last term refers to 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, 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. The Honduran white bat also lives in tents it makes from the plant's leaves.

Selected species

Heliconia acuminata Heliconia aemygdiana Heliconia angusta Heliconia angustifolia Heliconia aurantiaca (Heliconia aurantiaca2.jpg) Heliconia aurea Heliconia berryi Heliconia bicolor Heliconia bihai - Balisier, bijao, lobster claw, red palulu Heliconia bourgaeana Heliconia brasiliensis Heliconia brenneri Heliconia burle-marxii Heliconia caltheaphylla Heliconia caribaea Heliconia champneiana Heliconia chartacea Heliconia collinsiana Heliconia curtispatha Heliconia episcopalis Heliconia excelsa Heliconia farinosa Heliconia flabellata Heliconia fredberryana Heliconia gaiboriana Heliconia hirsuta Heliconia indica Heliconia latispatha Heliconia lennartiana Heliconia lingulata Heliconia litana Heliconia lutheri Heliconia magnifica Heliconia mariae Heliconia markiana Heliconia marthiasiae Heliconia metallica Heliconia monteverdensis

Heliconia mutisiana Heliconia nutans Heliconia obscura Heliconia ortotricha Heliconia pearcei Heliconia paka Heliconia paludigena Heliconia pardoi Heliconia peckenpaughii Heliconia pendula Heliconia peteriana Heliconia platystachys Heliconia pogonantha Heliconia pseudoaemygdiana Heliconia psittacorum - Parrot Heliconia Heliconia ramonensis Heliconia revoluta Heliconia richardiana Heliconia riopalenquensis Heliconia rostrata Heliconia schiedeana Heliconia sclerotricha Heliconia shumanniana Heliconia spathocircinata Heliconia spissa Heliconia stricta Heliconia subulata Heliconia tortuosa Heliconia vaginalis Heliconia vellerigera Heliconia velloziana Heliconia velutina Heliconia virginalis Heliconia wagneriana Heliconia willisiana Heliconia xanthovillosa Heliconia zebrina

Cultivation

Heliconias are grown for the florist's trade and as landscape plants. The flower of H. psittacorum (Parrot Heliconia), is especially distinctive, for its greenish-yellow flowers and black spots bear a remarkable resemblance to the bright plumage of parrots.

Several cultivars and hybrids have been selected for garden planting, including:

• H. psittacorum × H. spathocircinata, both species of South America, mainly Brazil
• H. × rauliniana = H. marginata (Venezuela) × H. bihai (Brazil)
• H. chartacea cv. 'Sexy Pink'

Gallery

See also

• National Tropical Botanical Garden, designated a conservation center by the Heliconia Society International

External links

• Heliconias of Peru (pdf file with scientific name and photos) in Spanish