
Heliconia
You are not actually seeing the flowers.
Heliconias are sometimes called "lobster claws" or "parrot flowers" because of their beak-like "bracts" which can be orange, purple, red, yellow, pink, green or a combination of these. A bract is a leaf structure at the base of a flower.
The heliconia's flowers are tiny and found inside these bracts, which are so large and colorful that they almost hide the flowers altogether. This keeps the flower's sweet nectar tucked away so that only specialized birds can get to it.
Some species of heliconia have upright facing flowers, and in some called hanging heliconia, the flowers dangle down from the main stem.
"Heliconia rostrata" is an herbaceous perennial native to Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador, and naturalized in Puerto Rico. Other "Heliconia"s grow in the upright position, their cup-shaped flower bracts storing water for birds and insects. This plant, however, has downward-facing flowers, the flowers thus providing a source of nectar to birds.
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