''Heliconia tortuosa'' is an herbaceous tropical perennial commonly found in secondary succession in montane forests in
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
and southern
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
(
Chiapas and
Tabasco
Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa.
It is located in ...
). It is moderately shade tolerant. It has also been widely cultivated as a garden plant for its showy, usually twisted (hence the name ''tortuosa'') inflorescences.
''Heliconia tortuosa'' is selective with its pollination, allowing only
green hermit and
violet sabrewing hummingbirds to pollinate its flowers.
References
External links
Heliconia tortuosa observations on iNaturalist
tortuosa
Flora of Chiapas
Flora of Tabasco
Flora of Central America
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