font settings

Font Size: Large | Normal | Small
Font Face: Verdana | Geneva | Georgia

Heliconia

(Genus)

Overview

[ Back to top ]

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 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

[ Back to top ]
Heliconia vellerigera inflorescence
Heliconia vellerigera inflorescence
Heliconia psittacorum
Heliconia psittacorum
Heliconia in Hilo
Heliconia in Hilo
Heliconia mariae
Heliconia mariae


Cultivation

[ Back to top ]

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:

Gallery

[ Back to top ]

Taxonomy

[ Back to top ]

The Genus Heliconia is further organized into finer groupings including:

Sources

[ Back to top ]
Last Revised: August 24, 2012
2012/08/24 14:53:48