Heliconia collinsiana
The Heliconia collinsiana is a flowering herb, native to Central America. It can be anywhere from 6 to 15 feet tall, which it can use to its advantage in the jungles of Costa Rica. Its flowers are found under dark red triangular bracts. These flowers are bright yellow upon first blooming, but then purple later in their maturation. They have a wax coating to protect them from the many insects that like to feed upon them. This coating affects their coloring in direct sunlight, causing the purple red to appear glossy or shiny, which makes them a common plant used in floriculture. The only real uses for the Heliconia collinsiana are for decoration, since the plant is not known to have any benefits to anyone otherwise. The Heliconia collinsiana is a common decorative plant in Southern California, so it can grow without the humidity found in Central America.