''Heliconia angusta'' Vell. (
syn.: ''Heliconia agustifolia'' Hook., ''Heliconia bicolor'' Benth., ''Heliconia brasiliensis'' Hook.), of family
Heliconiaceae
''Heliconia'', derived from the Greek word (), is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the ca 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the ...
is an erect herb typically growing 0.70 m tall, native to
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
(
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
).
General
''Heliconia angusta'' is commonly called the Christmas heliconia because its red and white inflorescences usually emerge during the Christmas period. Wild populations, native to southeastern Brazil, are classified as vulnerable by the World Conservation Union largely due to the conversion of their diminishing habitats for agricultural purposes. However, the genetic diversity of wild populations has, at least in part, been preserved by the ex-situ cultivation of ''Heliconia angusta''. The popularity of ''Heliconia angusta'' as a tropical garden plant and horticultural specimen has encouraged widespread propagation of this species by commercial nurseries and botanical gardens.
[1]
Uses
It is a popular
ornamental plant
Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...
in subtropical regions with a humid climate. The most cold hardy of ''Heliconia'', it is grown with success in warm temperate climates.
References
* Lorenzi, H.; Souza, M.S. (2001) ''Plantas Ornamentais no Brasil: arbustivas, herbáceas e trepadeiras.'
Plantarum
*
External links
Heliconia angusta observations on iNaturalist
Heliconia, angusta
Flora of Brazil
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