Anatomy of Inflorescence

The beauty of the heliconia lies in the brightly coloured bracts that are mistakenly called the flowers.

The actual flower is the tiny little flowers that emerge from the large showy bracts. The flower group (called an "inflorescence") is almost always at the end of long, leafy shoots.The stem is either erect or drooping , with respect to the leafy shoot from which it emerges. The inflorescence is made up of the peduncle and modified leaf-like structures known as bracts.

The rachis connects adjacent bracts. Within each bract there is a coil of inconspicuous flowers.

The fruits also develop within the bracts. The bracts are often filled with water and house a distinctive aquatic micro-ecosystem.

cv Fuschia, Heliconia Psittacorum

Blooming
In Malaysia, throughout the year but in non-tropical zones April to November.

Height
4- 6 Feet

Habitat
Full sun - 40 % of shade

Distribution
Uncertain [Hawaii]

Inflorescence
Bracts
4 - 5 bracts.
Fuschia (reddish-purple) with dusky area proximally
Rachis
Fuschia beneath basal bract to pale white-green on upper bract

Sepals
Light yellow with distal dark green band distally & whitish tip.

Ovary
Dark green on distal 5th & light-green proximally.

Pedicel
White

Vegetation
Musoid, reddish stripe along lower mid-rib on some

cv Alan Carle, Heliconia aff. psittacorum x spathocircinata Aristeguieta

Just acquired a new specie. Looks like a Golden Torch with 5 red bracts.

On Page 153, of the Helconia An Indentification Guide, there is a strikingly similar looking Heliconia psittacorum x spathocircinata Aristeguieta cv Alan Carle. The dufference being the colur of the bracts, sepals being yellowish rather than reddist as in my specie.

Height
6-7 ft (3-5 ft for cv Alan Carle)

Inflorenscence
Bracts
5-6 bracts with red keel and cheek. (3-6; reddish on most of cheek & keel shading to yellowish on proximal cheek & along lip for cv Alan Carle)

















Rachis
Reddish. (Greenish to yellow for cv Alan Carle)

Sepals
Dark greenish on Distal half , orangish on proximal part (Dark green on distal third with light tip, yellow on proximal part for cv Alan Carle)


















Ovary
Orange proximal to yellowish distally. (yellow cv Alan Carle)

Pedicel
Orangish (cream or yellowish cv Alan Carle)


Peduncle
Greenish proximaly to reddish distally.


















Vegetation
Musoid (like Banana Leaves)

















Other Names
Labelled as Golden Opal in Costa Rica.

cv Strawberries & Cream, Heliconia psittacorum L.f .

Did you notice the 2 fruits which are drupes (a hard seed surrounded by fleshy pulp) in the first picture ?

Blooming
All year

Height
3 - 5 Feet

Habitat
Full sun to 30 % of shade

Distribution
Uncertain [Hawaii]

Inflorescence
Bracts
3-5 bracts.
Strawberry red-pink distally & cream proximally. Basal bract mostly red-pink and a thin distal green keel.
Rachis
Cream with green tint
Sepals
Pale yellow with distal dark green bank and white tip. Orange with distal metallic black or green band.
Ovary
Pale yellow with green spot on distal corner
Pedicel
Cream with green tint.

Vegetation
Musoid

cv Andromeda, Heliconia psittacorum L.f .

16th November 2008















9th November 2008
















8th November 2008
















7th November 2008















18th October 2008
















18th October 2008
















Blooming
All year.

Height
1.5 - 9 Feet

Habitat
Full sun to 50 % of shade

Distribution
Guyana [now widely cultivated]

Inflorescence
Bracts
3-5 bracts.
Somewhat variable outer surface orange to red. Sometimes with green tint on keel. Inner surface red shading to orange proximally.
Rachis
Orange, Orange with red infusion or green.
Sepals
Orange with distal metallic black or green band & ornage tip.
Ovary
Dark orange distally & light orange or orange below.
Pedicel
Orange

Vegetation
Musoid

cv Las Cruces aka Eden Pink, Heliconia Stricta Huber

Blooming
In Malaysia, throughout the year but in non-tropical zones December to Septempter.

Height
3 - 5 Feet

Habitat
20 to 60 % of shade

Distribution
Uncertain [Florida & Costa Rica]

Inflorescence
Bracts
4-6 bracts.
Mostly red with narrow green & yellow lines along lip and a green keel on basal bract.
Rachis
Red
Sepals
Green distally with white tio & white below.
Ovary
White
Pedicel
White

Vegetation
Musoid, upper & lower mid-rib with red to maroon stripes, margins slighly undulated.

cv Fire Flash, Heliconia densiflora verlot

16th November 2008















11th November 2008















19th October 2008
















18th October 2008

















18th October 2008

A cluster of inflorescences...














Blooming
All year.

Height
1.5 to Feet

Habitat
Full sun - 40% of shade

Distribution
Uncertain [Florida, Hawaii, Australia & Costa Rica]



18th October 2008















Inflorescence
Bracts
4-5 bracts.
Red or red-orange with yellow-gold at base & proximal lip (increasing in area on upper bract)
Rachis
Red, changing to yellow-gold on upper bract
Sepals
Orange on distal 3/4 shading to light-yellow proximally, tip greenish.
Ovary
Orange on distal 1/2
Pedicel
Yellow

Vegetation
Musoid

cv Lady Di, Heliconia psittacorum L.f .

From what I read on Page 144 of the HELICONIA An Identification Guide, Lady Di has the following characteristics :-

Blooming
In Malaysia, throughout the year but in non-tropical zones April to November.

Height
2.5 - 5 Feet

Habitat
Full sun - 40 % of shade

Distribution
Uncertain [Florida, Hawaii, Barbados & Costa Rica]

Inflorescence
5-8 bracts.
Dark red with pale red on lower cheek

Rachis
Red, pink or pale pink

Sepals
Light yellow with distal dark green band & white tip.

Ovary
Yellow, some proximal green.

Pedicel
Light yellow or cream

Vegetation
Musoid, reddish stripe along lower mid-rib on some

cv Golden Torch Adrian, Heliconia psittacorum L.f x H Spathocircinata Aristeguieta

Other Names
Called Red Golden Torch in Costa Rica

Blooming
In Malaysia, all year. January to October elsewhere
Height
3.5 - 5 Feet
Habitat
Full sun to 20 % of shade
Distribution
Guyana [Florida, Hawaii, Costa Rica, Venezuela]

Inflorescence
Bracts
5-7 bracts, maroon to dark red at base; distal half of upper bracts with yellow and splashes of red; basal bract with faint green keel
Rachis
Maroon to dark red, or yellow on light red
Sepals
Golden with faint green distally
Ovary
Bright yellow on tip and yellow with flush of green or dull green below
Pedicel
Green Yellow

Vegetation
Musoid.

cv Rostrata aka False Birds of Paradise, Heliconia Rostrata Ruiz & Pava

My friend Sally gave me this heliconia.

From what I read, False Birds of Paradise has the following characteristics :-

Blooming
All year.

Height
3 - 20 Feet

Habitat
Full sun - 50 % of shade

Distribution
Originally Amazonian Peru & Edcuador. Now widely cultivated around the world.

Inflorescence
4-35 bracts.
Red over most of the bracts to yellow, green-tellow distally, lip yellow-green proximally to green distally.

Rachis
Red

Sepals
Bright yellow distally turning lighter to almost clear white at base.

Ovary
White

Pedicel
White

Vegetation
Musoid