HELICONIA: CHARACTERISTICS, HABITAT, REPRODUCTION AND CULTIVATION - BIOLOGY - 2025

Heliconia is the only genus in the family of herbaceous plants Heliconiaceae (order Zingiberales), where about 250 species are grouped. 98% of the Heliconia species are found in Central, South America and the Caribbean Islands, with Colombia being the country with the highest number of them.

Heliconias are believed to be native to the American tropics and do best in open, human-intervened sites, riverbanks, and streams, as well as in forest clearings. Some species are cultivated due to the beautiful colors that their inflorescences present, and are used for ornamental purposes.

Figure 1. Heliconia sp. In colombia. Source: Luz Adriana Villa via flickr.com/photos/luchilu

Heliconias (as they are usually referred to generically), are medium to large sized herbs, often with large growth of rhizomes or underground stems that grow horizontally, with roots on their surface.

The production patterns of rhizomes, branches and erect shoots in heliconia, give them variable capacities for their vegetative reproduction (asexual reproduction).

Characteristics and morphology

Shoots and stems

Each bud of heliconia is made up of a stem and leaves, and often, although not always, ends in an inflorescence. Its bearing is erect, 0.45 m to 10 m in height, and the leaves can vary in shapes and sizes.

The overlapping or superposition of the petioles of the leaves forms the stem, which is why it is technically called a pseudostem or false stem.

Figure 2. Schematic representation of the growth and arrangement of the leaves in Heliconia. Source: self made.

Each leaf is made up of two halves, separated by a main vein that extends from the petiole. In some species, the pseudostem has a distinctive, white, waxy coat, which may also be present on the inflorescences and on the back of the leaves.

Figure 3. Heliconia vellerigera Source: Kurt Stüber, via Wikimedia Commons

On the stem the leaves are arranged oppositely.

Leaves

They are composed of petiole and lamina configured in a two-dimensional plane, and look alternately to either side of an axis.

Heliconia has three basic types of leaf shapes:

1. Musoid: the leaves usually have long petioles, arranged vertically, growing with the typical shape of bananas.
2. Zingiberoid: its leaves are arranged horizontally and the petioles are trimmed. These are reminiscent of ginger plants.
3. Canoid: species that have medium length petioles, obliquely adjusted to the stem, recalling the species of the genus Canna.

Inflorescences

The most visible feature of this type of plant is its colorful inflorescence. These inflorescences almost always appear on the terminal part of the erect shoots, but in some species they can appear on a basal shoot without leaves.

The inflorescences can have an erect or pendular orientation with respect to the leafy shoot from which they emerge.

Figure 4. Examples of erect inflorescences of Heliconia bihai (Henri Pittier National Park, Rancho Grande Cloud Forest, Venezuela), the strong intraspecific variation is appreciated. Source: Trigal Perdomo

The inflorescence is made up of the peduncle (which is the part of the stem between the terminal leaf and the basal bract), leaf-like structures called bracts (or spathes), the rachis connecting adjacent bracts, and a series of flowers within each bract.

Figure 5. Heliconia rostrata, an example of a pendulous inflorescence, the parts referred to in the text have been highlighted. Source: Modified from I, KENPEI, via Wikimedia Commons

Habitats and distribution

Origin

Heliconias are native to the American tropics, from the Tropic of Cancer in Mexico to the Tropic of Capricorn in South America, including the islands of the Caribbean Sea.

Many species inhabit humid and rainy places, although some can inhabit places where there is a dry season alternated with a rainy season.

Heliconias grow very well in the humid and low-lying areas of the tropics, below 500 meters above sea level. However, in areas of medium height and in cloudy forests, unique species of heliconia are found, which are only found in that place (endemic).

At altitudes greater than 1800 meters above sea level, there are very few species of heliconia.

They generally inhabit places previously intervened by human activity, on the edge of roads and paths, rivers and streams, and in open patches in the forest due to falling trees.

Geographical distribution

Most of the species of the genus Heliconia are found in Central and South America, and on the islands of the Caribbean.

Colombia

Of the 250 described species, approximately 97 are distributed in Colombia and 48 are considered endemic. For this reason, Colombia is considered the largest center of diversity of the genus Heliconia in the world.

In Colombia, the regions with the highest number of species are the western Andean slope, the Atrato river valley, the Magdalena river slopes and the eastern Andean region.

Approximately half of the heliconia species that grow in Colombia are endemic. The regions with the highest proportion of endemism are the Andean, with 75%, and the Pacific Ocean coast with 20%.

Europe and Asia

On the European and Asian continents there is a strange group of heliconia, separated by thousands of kilometers from most other species in the tropics.

This group of heliconia is distributed from Samoa in a westerly direction to the central island of Indonesia (Sulawesi), and is characterized by having green flowers and bracts.

Even today it is unknown how these heliconia could reach the South Pacific millions of years ago.

Reproduction

Pollination

In the American tropics, hummingbirds are the only pollinators of the genus Heliconia, while in Old World species, pollinators are bats that feed on the nectar of their flowers (nectarivores).

In the tropical region of the American continent (Neotropics), birds are attracted by the striking colors of the flowers and bracts, which are red, orange, pink and yellow.

The length and curvature of the floral tubes in heliconia have been developed by a process of coevolution with the beaks of hummingbirds.

Although each flower remains open for only one day, there are many flowers on each bract and several bracts for each inflorescence, so a heliconia plant can be in bloom for a long time.

This fact is used by hummingbirds that visit the flowers with their elongated beaks looking for nectar and transferring pollen from one flower to another.

Self-compatibility and hybridization

Most heliconia are self-compatible, which means that a flower can produce seeds from self-pollination (without needing to be fertilized by pollen from another flower). However, in many cases they do require a pollinator to transport the pollen so that the seed can form.

Pollination can also be achieved by artificial means, which is common practice where heliconia is grown commercially. Their natural pollinators are rarely found in these places.

Artificial fertilization is done by hand, or the intervention of new pollinators (such as insects, mammals) is allowed.

On the other hand, cross-fertilization between different species is generally not successful, although some hybrids have been found that form spontaneously.

Figure 7. Hybrid product of the cross of Heliconia caribaea x Heliconia bihai. Source: Photo by David J. Stang, via Wikimedia Commons

Culture

The soil in which heliconia is to be planted must be amended with organic matter (soil-organic matter ratio of 3: 1). The requirements of heliconia are very similar to those of "musaceae", so nitrogen and potassium are very important for their proper development.

Most of the species are highly susceptible to potassium deficiency, they do not tolerate basic soils or poorly drained soils.

The sowing distance between plants depends on the species; the smallest being planted at a distance of 1 meter between each other and 1.5 meters between rows.

In medium species these distances are often doubled, even tripling for the largest species (such as H. platystachys).

Fertilization

Fertilizers such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are normally applied (in a 1: 1: 3 ratio). The amounts should be similar to those commonly used with musaceae.

Heliconias are plants that have high requirements. The best way to fertilize them is with a balanced soluble fertilizer. Iron, magnesium and manganese deficiencies must be compensated for.

Diseases and pests

Heliconias can be affected by molds and bacteria, which can cause considerable damage. It is recommended, in the case of greenhouse cultivation, to maintain proper hygiene of the spaces and good ventilation to avoid the accumulation of water on the flowers.

In some cases, to control these diseases, the use of fungicides and some compound with copper (cupric) is recommended for use on flowers.

The most common pests in heliconia flowers are thrips, aphids, spider mites, nematodes, among others.

References

1. Abalo, J. and Morales, L. (1982) Twenty-five new Heliconias from Colombia. Phytology, vol. 51, no. 1. pp. 1-61.
2. Berry, F. and Kress, WJ (1991). Heliconia: an identification guide. Smithsonian Institute Press, Washington and London. pp. 334.
3. Iles, WJD, Sass, C., Lagomarsino, L., Benson-Martin, G., Driscoll, H., & Specht, CD (2017). The phylogeny of Heliconia (Heliconiaceae) and the evolution of floral presentation. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 117: 150–167. doi: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2016.12.001
4. Madriz, R., Gunta, SB and Noguera, R. (1991). Main pathogenic fungi that affect some ornamental species of the genus Heliconia. Tropical Agronomy, 41 (5-6): 265-274.
5. Seifert, RP (1982). Neotropical Heliconia insect communities. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 57: 1-28.