Heliconia latispatha – Expanded Lobster Claw

Heliconia latispatha - Expanded Lobster Claw, Expanded Lobsterclaw, Golden Lobster Claw (red inflorescence)

Heliconia latispatha - Expanded Lobster Claw, Expanded Lobsterclaw, Golden Lobster Claw (orange inflorescence)

Heliconia latispatha - Expanded Lobster Claw, Expanded Lobsterclaw, Golden Lobster Claw (orange inflorescence and leaves)

Heliconia latispatha - Expanded Lobster Claw, Expanded Lobsterclaw, Golden Lobster Claw

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Heliconia latispatha

Common Names: Expanded Lobster Claw, Expanded Lobsterclaw, Golden Lobster Claw

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Herb/Forb

Hawaii Native Status: Introduced. This naturalized ornamental garden plant is native to Mexico and Central and South America.

Flower Color: Green, Yellow, Orange. The more conspicuous floral bracts are orange or red.

Height: Up to 10 feet (3 m) tall

Description: The relatively inconspicuous flowers emerge from within elongated, narrowly claw-shaped, spirally arranged floral bracts on erect, up to 18 inch (46 cm) tall inflorescences. The flowers are followed by blue, hairless fruits. The leaves are simple, alternate, long-petioled, and have green, lanceolate leaf blades with a stout midrib and parallel, pinnate veins. The pseudostems (formed by the leaf sheaths) emerge from underground rhizomes.

Here in Hawaii, Expanded Lobster Claw is both cultivated and grows wild in sunny to partly shady areas at lower elevations. The large, unusual inflorescences make long lasting cut flowers in tropical flower arrangements.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Liliopsida – Monocotyledons
Subclass: Zingiberidae
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Heliconiaceae – Heliconia family
Genus: Heliconia L. – heliconia
Species: Heliconia latispatha Benth. – expanded lobsterclaw

More About This Plant

Hawaii County Distribution Map