Heliconia trichocarpa

Native from Costa Rica through Panama to Colombia, this perennial herb produces tall, banana-like leafy shoots. Large oblong leaves rise above a rhizomatous base. The hanging flowering structure bears several broad red or pink bracts arranged around its axis, with yellow forms also recorded. Clusters of curved, S-shaped yellow flowers emerge from the bracts. Hairy fruits initially appear pale yellow to white and become blue as they ripen. In Costa Rica, Honduran white bats fold its leaves into tents used as daytime roosts. Treefrogs sometimes use unoccupied tents as shelters or egg-laying sites. Photographed in Colombia.