Bright Bold Exotic Heliconia

Hive member @kus-knee has decided to throw a contest in the Contest Fun Community called "The Old Dog Asks: Does That Pistil and Stamen Go with Those Petals?" In it he asks for fellow Hive members to post a photo they have taken of a flower with its pistils, petals and stamen. Its an easy little contest to have some quick fun with. Details can be found here:

https://peakd.com/hive-122136/@kus-knee/the-old-dog-asks-does-that-pistol-and-stamen-go-with-those-petals-contest

For my entry I've featured photos of Heliconia I took while visiting the south pacific island of Vanuatu. I'm a huge fan of the exotic Heliconia flower and I figured with a contest of this nature why not go with a flower where the pistils and stamens arent so obvious.

Looking at the Heliconia flower its easy to mistake those big colourful bracts for the flower, when in reality the flower its self is much smaller and hidden inside the bract and only peeks out a little bit.

Heliconia are closely related to both the banana plant and the bird of paradise and can grow up to 20 feet tall depending on the cultivar.

Mooooore Heliconia!!!

Heliconia comes in many colours and shapes to its flower stalks.

Some are erect like these

And many grow with the stalks bending over and the flowers hanging upside down in a pendular fashion. This particular cultivar is called "lobster claws"

So thats my little post for the contest. I hope some bright beautiful flowers are a nice addition to everyone's day.

Wishing everyone good health here at Hive!

Best wishes,

-hidave