Heliconia rostrata

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Heliconia rostrata
Heliconia rostrata 4.jpg
Lobster claws flower.jpg
Lobster claws flower at peak season, Udumalpet, India
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Heliconiaceae
Genus: Heliconia
Species:
H. rostrata
Binomial name
Heliconia rostrata
Ruiz & Pavon
Synonyms [1]
  • Bihai poeppigiana(Eichler ex Petersen) Kuntze
  • Bihai rostrata(Ruiz & Pav.) Griggs
  • Heliconia poeppigianaEichler ex Petersen

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. [2] Other heliconias grow in an upright position (e.g. Heliconia bihai ), 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. [3] [4]

Contents

Heliconias are known to those who grow them as a host flower to many birds, especially the hummingbirds. Because of its unique characteristics, it is often used as a specimen for tropical gardens.

Along with the Kantuta flower, Heliconia rostrata, known as patujú, is the national flower of Bolivia.

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<i>Spartium</i> Species of broom native to the Mediterranean

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<i>Cantua buxifolia</i> Species of plant

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<i>Heliconia chartacea</i> Species of plant

Heliconia chartacea is a species of Heliconia native to tropical South America.

<i>Heliconia acuminata</i> Species of plant

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<i>Heliconia psittacorum</i> Species of flowering plant

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References

  1. The Plant List, Heliconia rostrata
  2. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Heliconia rostrata
  3. Ruiz López, Hipólito & Pavón, José Antonio. 1802. Flora Peruviana, et Chilensis 3: 71, t. 305, Heliconia rostrata
  4. Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. (eds.) 1993. Catalogue of the Flowering Plants and Gymnosperms of Peru. Monographs in systematic botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 45: i–xl, 1–1286.