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Heliconiaceae

Heliconiaceae
Heliconiaceae image
  • FNA
  • Resources
W. John Kress;Alan T. Whittemore in Flora of North America (vol. 22)
Herbs, perennial, from rhizomes. True aerial stems absent or weak and concealed in pseudostem. Leaves basal or basal and cauline, in 2 ranks, differentiated into basal sheath, petiole, and blade; sheaths overlapping, forming unbranched pseudostem, open, ligule absent; summit of petiole not differentiated; blade with lateral veins parallel, diverging from prominent midrib. Inflorescences 1 per aerial shoot, projecting from tip of pseudostem, pedunculate racemes of several- to many-flowered monochasial cymes (cincinni); bracts of main axis enclosing cincinni. Flowers bisexual, bilaterally symmetric; sepals and petals scarcely differentiated, sepals 3, petals 3, 2 sepals and 3 petals fused, remaining sepal distinct; fertile stamens 5, not petal-like; anthers 2-locular; 1 rudimentary staminode opposite free sepal; ovary inferior, 3-carpellate, 3-locular, all locules fertile; placentation basal; ovules 1 per locule; style standing away from stamens and staminode, filiform, stigma capitate or 3-lobed. Fruits 1--3-seeded drupes, sepals not persistent in fruit. Seeds: aril absent, endosperm copious, perisperm copious, embryo straight. x = 12.

The Bird-of-paradise, Strelitzia reginae Aiton, of the closely related family Strelitziaceae, is an acaulescent rhizomatous herb often cultivated in the western and southern United States. It is not known to reproduce outside of cultivation, but it can persist for very long periods on abandoned ground in southern California. Its leaves are in two ranks; the sheaths do not overlap and do not form a pseudostem. The petioles are long, and the blades are glabrous but often strongly glaucous, and have parallel lateral veins diverging from a prominent midrib. The inflorescence is a single cincinnus, enclosed within a large bract, with the mature flowers projecting laterally. The perianth is large and showy, with three orange sepals and three dark blue petals; one petal is short, the other two are long and enfold the style and the five fertile stamens, forming a prominent arrow-shaped structure. The fruit is a many-seeded capsule.

Species within inventory project: Arizona Flora || << 1 - 50 taxa >>
Bihai bihai
Media
not available
Heliconia acuminata
Media resource of Heliconia acuminata
Heliconia adflexa
Media resource of Heliconia adflexa
Heliconia aemygdiana
Media resource of Heliconia aemygdiana
Heliconia albicosta
Media
not available
Heliconia angusta
Media resource of Heliconia angusta
Heliconia atropurpurea
Media
not available
Heliconia aurantiaca
Media resource of Heliconia aurantiaca
Heliconia barryana
Media
not available
Heliconia beckneri
Media resource of Heliconia beckneri
Heliconia bihai
Media resource of Heliconia bihai
Heliconia bourgaeana
Media resource of Heliconia bourgaeana
Heliconia brachyantha
Media
not available
Heliconia caribaea
Media resource of Heliconia caribaea
Heliconia chartacea
Media resource of Heliconia chartacea
Heliconia clinophila
Media resource of Heliconia clinophila
Heliconia colgantea
Media resource of Heliconia colgantea
Heliconia collinsiana
Media resource of Heliconia collinsiana
Heliconia crassa
Media
not available
Heliconia curtispatha
Media resource of Heliconia curtispatha
Heliconia danielsiana
Media resource of Heliconia danielsiana
Heliconia deflexa
Media
not available
Heliconia dielsiana
Media resource of Heliconia dielsiana
Heliconia elongata
Media
not available
Heliconia episcopalis
Media resource of Heliconia episcopalis
Heliconia farinosa
Media
not available
Heliconia faunorum
Media resource of Heliconia faunorum
Heliconia gracilis
Media
not available
Heliconia griggsiana
Media resource of Heliconia griggsiana
Heliconia hirsuta
Media resource of Heliconia hirsuta
Heliconia humilis
Media resource of Heliconia humilis
Heliconia ignescens
Media
not available
Heliconia imbricata
Media resource of Heliconia imbricata
Heliconia impudica
Media
not available
Heliconia indica
Media resource of Heliconia indica
Heliconia irrasa
Media resource of Heliconia irrasa
Heliconia juruana
Media resource of Heliconia juruana
Heliconia lankesteri
Media resource of Heliconia lankesteri
Heliconia lasiorachis
Media
not available
Heliconia latispatha
Media resource of Heliconia latispatha
Heliconia laufao
Media resource of Heliconia laufao
Heliconia librata
Media resource of Heliconia librata
Heliconia lingulata
Media
not available
Heliconia longa
Media
not available
Heliconia longiflora
Media
not available
Heliconia lophocarpa
Media
not available
Heliconia lutea
Media
not available
Heliconia maculata
Media resource of Heliconia maculata
Heliconia magnifica
Media
not available
Heliconia marginata
Media resource of Heliconia marginata
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This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services [MG-70-19-0057-19].

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