Heliconia psittacorum (parrot's beak, parakeet flower, parrot's flower, parrot's plantain, false bird-of-paradise) is a perennial herb native to the Caribbean and South America. It is considered native to French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago. It is reportedly naturalized in Gambia, Thailand, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Jamaica and the Lesser Antilles.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Heliconia psittacorum It is often cultivated as a tropical ornamental plant in regions outside its native range.
Description Heliconia psittacorum can grow 1 - 2 meters tall. The leaves are lanceolate to elliptical, and are similar to banana leaves.
The flower has both male parts (anthers) and female parts (stigma and pistil), also referred to as a monoecious angiosperm.PLANTS Profile for Heliconia psittacorum (Parakeetflower) USDA PlantsLinnaeus, Carl von f. 1782. Supplementum Plantarum 158. Heliconia psittacorumAublet, Jean Baptiste Christophe Fusée. 1775. Histoire des Plantes de la Guiane Françoise 931, Musa humilisAristeguieta, Leandro. 1961. El Género Heliconia en Venezuela no. 16a, Heliconia psittacorum var. rhizomatosa The inflorescence is erect, consisting of red bracts and pale-yellow tubular flowers.
References
External links Heliconia psittacorum observations on iNaturalist Line drawing of Heliconia psittacorum for Flora of Panama Photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, isotype of Heliconia psittacorum