Heliconia vellerigera

Native from southern Colombia through Ecuador to northern Peru, this perennial herb forms clumps from underground rhizomes. It occurs in lowland and montane rainforests. Its hanging flower clusters have reddish-brown bracts and a central axis covered with long woolly hairs. Each bract holds a group of curved, tubular yellow flowers. The small, elongated fruits turn deep blue to purple when ripe. Hummingbirds pollinate the flowers. It is cultivated as a tropical ornamental. The clumps can be propagated by division. Photographed in Pereira, Colombia.