Heliconia is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the western Pacific and Maluku in Indonesia. Many species of Heliconia are found in the tropical forests of these regions. Most species are listed as either vulnerable or data deficient by the IUCN Red List of threatened species. Several species are widely cultivated as ornamentals, and a few are naturalized in Florida, Gambia, and Thailand.
Hevea is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, with about ten members. It is also one of many names used commercially for the wood of the most economically important rubber tree, H. brasiliensis. The genus is native to tropical South America but is widely cultivated in other tropical countries and naturalized in several of them. It was first described in 1775.
Furcraea foetida is a species of flowering plant native to the Caribbean and northern South America. It is widely cultivated and reportedly naturalized in many places.
Caladium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. They are often known by the common name elephant ear, heart of Jesus, and angel wings. There are over 1000 named cultivars of Caladium bicolor from the original South American plant.
The Marcgraviaceae are a neotropical angiosperm family in the order Ericales. The members of the family are shrubs, woody epiphytes, and lianas, with alternate, pinnately nerved leaves. The flowers are arranged in racemes. The flowers are accompanied by modified, fleshy, saccate bracts which produce nectar. The flowers are pentamerous. The fruits are capsules.
Caryocar is a genus of flowering plants, in the South American family Caryocaraceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1771. It is native primarily to South America with a few species extending into Central America and the West Indies.
Heliconia rostrata, the hanging lobster claw or false bird of paradise, is a herbaceous perennial plant native to El Salvador, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Ecuador, and naturalized in Puerto Rico. Other heliconias grow in an upright position, their cup-shaped flower bracts storing water for birds and insects. This plant, however, has downward-facing flowers, the flowers thus providing a source of nectar to birds.
Heliconia stricta is a plant species native to Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, reproducing by seeds and by underground rhizomes. It is reportedly naturalized in Cuba and Puerto Rico, and cultivated as an ornamental in many other warm regions. The young leaves and bracts retain water, forming pools called phytotelmata, which provide habitat for diverse invertebrates.
Guzmania lingulata, the droophead tufted airplant or scarlet star, is a species of flowering plant in the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Tillandsioideae. This evergreen epiphytic perennial is native to rainforest habitats in Central America, northern and central South America and southern Mexico. The Latin word lingulata means "tongue-shaped". The foliage grows in a star-shaped basal rosette culminating in an orange and red bracted inflorescence. It is among the most commonly cultivated bromeliad types, with cultivars producing flowers in shades of maroon, red, orange, yellow or pink.
Lecythis is a genus of woody plant in the Lecythidaceae family first described as a genus in 1758. It is native to Central America and South America. Several species produce edible seeds and referred to by a variety of common names including paradise nut, monkey pot, cream nut, and sapucaia nut.
Thoracocarpus is a genus of plants first described as a genus in 1958. It contains only one known species, Thoracocarpus bissectus a hemiepiphytic vine. It is native to Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, and South America.
Aechmea poitaei is a species of flowering plant in the genus Aechmea. This species is native to Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and French Guiana.
Koellensteinia is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It is named by Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach for the Captain Carl Kellner von Koellenstein, an Austrian military officer and a botanical correspondent of Reichenbach.
Solanum tepuiense is a plant species native to Venezuela. It is known from one collection, from a low-elevation sandstone flat-topped mountain named Sororopán-Tepuí, near the Gran Sabana Region in the State of Bolívar in the eastern part of the country.
Carex porrecta is a plant species known from Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador. It is found in humid forests at elevations of 1,600–2,600 metres (5,200–8,500 ft).
Evodianthus is a genus of plants first described as a genus in 1857. It contains only one known species, Evodianthus funifer, native to Trinidad & Tobago, Central America and northern South America.
Miersiella is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the Burmanniaceae, first described as a genus in 1903. It contains only one known species, Miersiella umbellataUrb. It is native to South America.
Chromolaena squalida is a South American species of flowering shrub in the family Asteraceae. It is found in Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname.
Rubus floribundus is a South American species of brambles in the rose family. It grows in western South America as far south as Bolivia.
Xyris jupicai, common name Richard's yelloweyed grass, is a New World species of flowering plant in the yellow-eyed-grass family. It is widespread in North America, South America, Mesoamerica, and the West Indies.
