Heliconias... Heliconias... Heliconia

On 3rd October 2008, I started a blog on growing Heliconias, an exotic plant not native to Malaysia. All pictures shown are digital photos of the actual species in my garden such as Rostrata,

Dwarf Jamaican,

Latispatha and several psittacorums such as Andromeda,


Lady Di, Fuschia,

Strawberry & Cream and hybrids such as Golden Torch

and Alan Carle.

Heliconia are close relatives of gingers, bananas, birds-of-paradise and traveler’s palms. There are more than 200 (350 including cultivars) documented species of the single genus, with the bulk of them originating from Central and South America such as Guyana, Costa Rica, Berlize, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. You may be interested to note that about 6 species have evolved separately in the South Pacific and Indonesia, and typically have green inflorescence.The name "heliconia" actually comes from Greek mythology after the great Mount Helicon, the abode of the muses of the arts and sciences.

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. Each stem can only flower once, after which the entire stem deteriorates, drives up and collapses. As such, it is recommended to cut at the base of 'flowered-out' stems.

More at http://myheliconias.blogspot.com