Information on Heliconia Rostrata

Heliconia Rostrata

Common Name:  Heliconia Rostrata

Scientific Name:  Lobster Claw    

Height: 6-8 m

Span: 2-4 inches 

Growth Rate: Fast

Sun Tolerance: Full Sun, Shade

Heliconia Rostrata is the one of the most recognized species of the plants. It is popularly known as lobster claw and false bird of paradise. Heliconia Rostrata is the national flower of Bolivia together with Kantuta flower. The plant produces flowers in summer, which are similar to the claws of the lobsters and hangs in downwards position. The leaves of the Heliconia Rostrata are evergreen and dark-green in color. They flourish in full or partial sun and prosper well in fertile and moist soil. Heliconia are close relatives of gingers, bananas, birds-of-paradise and traveler's palms. There are approximately 350 species making up the single genus, with the bulk of them originating from Central and South America. Oddly enough, a small group of about 6 species have evolved separately in the South Pacific, and these are typically characterized by having green inflorescences.

Full Grown Heliconia Rostrata Tree

  Close View of Heliconia Rostrata

    Heliconia Rostrata

 Close View of Heliconia Rostrata's bud

 

 Bunch of Heliconia Rostrata

Video on Heliconia Rostrata :

For more information:

University of Florida-Heliconia Rostrata Lobster Claw
Palmvirienden-Heliconia Rostrata facts


Growing Heliconias from Seed 

Growing heliconias from seed is a truly enjoyable experience. Seeds provide an inexpensive means of producing more plants without having to sacrifice clumps or dig rhizomes, and also increases the chance of producing a new cultivar or maybe a hybrid! Plants grown from seed usually take longer to flower than those planted from rhizomes or clump divisions, but for those who are always on the lookout for something new, it's worth a try. Few heliconia hybrids have been found in nature, and there aren't any man-made hybrids as in the world of orchids, roses and other commercially grown flower plants. Some countries, like Australia, ban the import of live plants and rhizomes, and collectors rely on seeds to plant  heliconias and other plant species. Import of clean seeds usually doesn't require a phytosanitary certificate.

Mostly native to the American tropics, heliconias are pollinated by hummingbirds. Puerto Rico has nine different species of hummingbirds, two of them endemic. They are the main pollinators of our native yellow Heliconia caribaea, and of all the other heliconias that have been introduced to the island with time. These tiny birds with iridescent plumage are commonly seen not only around heliconias, but also on the flowers of ornamental gingers like the Red and Pink Torch (Etlingera elatior). Fig. 1 shows a hummingbird on a flower of Heliconia bihai Lobster Claw I (photo by Dr. Antonio Iñigo, from Mayaguez, PR). Bees sometimes stop in heliconia flowers for nectar, like this one seen in a Heliconia chartacea Columbin.

When pollinated, heliconias produce a fruit, called a drupe. It's generally bright blue or blue-violet in color. When this fleshy blue cover is removed, there will be from one to three very hard, black seeds . These seeds vary in size and shape among the different heliconia species.  Some can be as large and round as a pea (H. aemygdiana), while others can be long and thin as a grain of rice (H. rostrata).