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Heliconia rostrata
Also called Hanging Lobster Claw Heliconia
In Singapore: Fishtail Heliconia, Hanging Lobster's Claw (Grown in Singapore)
Heliconia rostrata is a herbaceous perennial from wet tropical rainforests, grown for its drooping red and yellow bracts. It needs warmth, high humidity and consistently moist soil to thrive.
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. It is found in tropical rainforests, as it thrives in warm and humid environments. The inflorescences of many other heliconias grow vertically, facing upwards (e.g. Heliconia bihai), their cup-shaped bracts storing water for birds and insects. This plant, however, has pendulous inflorescences with the bracts facing downwards, the flowers nestled underneath. Without the collection of rainwater in the bracts, the flowers within them provide a source of undiluted nectar.
Heliconias are known to those who grow them as a host flower to many birds, especially hummingbirds.
False Bird Of Paradise · Christmas Heliconia · Macawflower · Pink Flamingo Heliconia · Platanillo · Heliconia episcopalis · Heliconia hirsuta · Heliconia indica · Expanded lobsterclaw · Fire Bird · Kitty Kat Heliconia · Heliconias
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Heliconia rostrata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
