Heliconia rostrata

Heliconia rostrata
	Lobster claws flower at peak season, Udumalpet, India
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Zingiberales
Family:	Heliconiaceae
Genus:	Heliconia
Species:	H. rostrata
Binomial name
	Heliconia rostrata; Ruiz & Pavon
Synonyms
	Bihai poeppigiana (Eichler ex Petersen) Kuntze ; Bihai rostrata (Ruiz & Pav.) Griggs; Heliconia poeppigiana Eichler ex Petersen;

Heliconia rostrata, the hanging lobster claw or false bird of paradise, is a herbaceous perennial plant native to El Salvador, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Ecuador, and naturalized in Puerto Rico.^[2] The inflorescences of many other heliconias grow vertically, facing upwards (e.g. Heliconia bihai), their cup-shaped bracts storing water for birds and insects. This plant, however, has pendulous inflorescences with the bracts facing downwards, the flowers nestled underneath. Without the collection of rainwater in the bracts, the flowers within them provide a source of undiluted nectar.^[3]^[4]

Heliconias are known to those who grow them as a host flower to many birds, especially hummingbirds. Because of its unique characteristics, it is often used as a specimen for tropical gardens.

Along with the Kantuta flower, Heliconia rostrata, known as patujú, is the national flower of Bolivia.