Heliconia rostrata

Overview

Oxford describes spirally arranged foliage on long petioles, with leaves reaching 120 centimetres. Pendant inflorescences reach 60 centimetres; yellow-tipped, green-edged red bracts cup inconspicuous flowers. Rhizomes spread the perennial clump. American heliconias receive hummingbird pollination; this broader account is not a species-specific pollination experiment.

A Kress voucher collected in cultivated Kauai on 22 June 1990 records shoots to 1.75 metres, red rachis and nearly two-ranked bracts. Its flowers have a white perianth base becoming yellow at the apex. A cultivated Hawaiian specimen does not establish native Hawaiian distribution.

UF/IFAS records leathery evergreen foliage, persistent cut inflorescences and division of matted clumps. Its horticultural observations concern cultivated plants, complementing the herbarium voucher rather than replacing field ecology.

Origins & earliest records

A botanical garden account and a dated voucher anchor form and provenance.

Evidence & interpretation

The voucher distinguishes actual flowers from their conspicuous enclosing bracts.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Heliconia rostrata

   Lucinda Lachelin

2. 02

   PTBG1000030149

   W. J. Kress · 1990

3. 03

   FP248

   Gilman, Meerow, Klein and Hansen

Family, evolution & connections

Taxonomic classification

A hierarchy of classified groups, not a chain of direct ancestors.

Source note: Oxford places this species in Heliconiaceae; resemblance to bananas does not make it Musa.

1. FamilyHeliconiaceae

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Institutional diagnosisHeliconia rostrataResearch access: 2026-10-11
2. Primary research or specimenPTBG1000030149Research access: 2026-10-11
3. Institutional diagnosisFP248Research access: 2026-10-11

Image credits

AI illustration of pendant red bracts and paddle leaves.

AI scientific interpretation of an imagined flowering clump.