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Heliconia
Heliconia, derived from the Greek word helikonios, 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. Common names for the genus include lobster-claws, wild plantains or false bird-of-paradise. The last term refers to their close similarity to the bird-of-paradise flowers (Strelitzia). Collectively, these plants are also simply referred to as heliconias. It is the sole genus of the family Heliconiaceae, but was formerly included in the family Musaceae. The APG system of 1998, and its successor, the APG II system of 2003, confirms the Heliconiaceae as distinct and places them in the order Zingiberales, in the commelinid clade of monocots. The leaves of these plants are 15-300 cm (6 in-10 ft) 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.
Hi Collen, this is the heliconia rostrata. the origin of this plant is South America as with most heliconia species. There are few examples of heliconia developing outside of the Americas. This spotting, while found in the wild, is likely from animal seed dispersion from an ornamental garden. The name bird-of-paradise is rarely used to describe any of the heliconia as it is a separate plant species:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strelitzia_...
Lobster Claw as a name is a great description but also should be used sparingly as the real name of the plant is plain old boring "Heliconia". Hope this helps! Nice spotting!
Spotted on Oct 20, 2011
Submitted on Oct 23, 2011
