Botanical rebirth: Local horticulturist Nan Sterman explains what went into choosing the plants and her garden design in Balboa Park's rebuilt Botanical Building.

Some tropical beauties are well suited to a relatively cool climate, such as Heliconia bourgaeana. One of Edwina’s star plants is a White Bat Plant in full, dramatic black-and-white flower.

Heliconia plants, especially the leaves, are essential to the bat’s survival. The bats cleverly cut along the veins of the leaves, causing them to fold downward like an upside-down “V”.

Honduran white bats only live in lowland rainforests where heliconia plants grow. Sadly, their specific habitat makes them very vulnerable when rainforests are destroyed. The IUCN considers the bat a ...

Tropical plants in the genus Heliconia attract hummingbirds, bats and other creatures in the wild — and intrigue plant collectors, who prize them for their intense colors, dramatic beak-like ...

The leaves can only be used temporarily while they are at the perfect size for the opening for the bats to roost – after 24 hours, they become too wide. Commercial harvesting of the heliconia ...

Commercial harvesting of the heliconia leaves impacts the bats further. Social groups of 4-14 bats can roost together inside these rolled-up leaves.

Nearly half of Heliconia species—tropical plants vital to rainforest ecosystems—are at risk of extinction, according to new research.

Tropical plants have a vibrant and calming energy as they bring up the space with their green luscious foliage and variety of colours.

Many plants have been damaged by the cold — especially the tropical types like heliconia. Sometimes major portions of these plants are heavily damage and may not recover.

The genus Heliconia contains 187 species of tropical plants related to bananas. While a handful of Heliconia species are native to western Pacific islands, the majority live in rainforests throughout ...

A new analysis reveals that nearly half of the genus Heliconia, a group of tropical plants popular for their bright, beak-shaped flowers, are threatened with extinction.