flora

Hanging Lobster Claw

Heliconia rostrata

Where to See It Rainforest trails and damp gardens, Annandale and Grand Etang

Unmistakable and architectural, the heliconia hangs its flower in a long chain of waxy claws, scarlet-tipped with yellow and green, like a string of painted lobster pincers. The true flowers hide inside these bracts, offering nectar to hummingbirds. It thrives in the warm damp of the interior, and a stand of it beside a forest waterfall is pure theatre.

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