Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Heliconia latispatha Benth.

platanilla, heliconia, expanded lobster claw, golden lobster claw

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Plantae

Phylum
Magnoliophyta

Class
Liliopsida (= Monocotyledoneae)

Order
Zingiberales

Family
Heliconiaceae

Genus
Heliconia

Species
latispatha

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Bihai latispatha (Benth.) Griggs

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

Year of first record: 2006

Mode of introduction: Intentional

Introduction Pathway: Intentional

Subpathway: Agriculture/Horticulture

Introduced status: Human dependent

Invasive status: No data

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

References

  • Andersson, L. (1985) 221. Musaceae. Flora del Ecuador 22: 1–86.
  • Andersson, L. (1992) Revision of Heliconia subgen. Taeniostrobus and subgen. Heliconia (Musaceae-Heliconioideae). Opera Bot. 111: 1–98.
  • Andersson, L. (1981) Revision of Heliconia sect. Heliconia (Musaceae). Nordic J. Bot. 1(6): 759–784.
  • CONABIO (2009) Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. Cap. nat. México 1.
  • D'Arcy, W.G. (1987) Flora of Panama. Checklist and Index. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 17(1): i–xxx, 1–328; 18(2): i–ix, 1–672.
  • Guézou, A. Trueman, M., Buddenhagen, E., Chamorro, S., Guerrero, A.M., Pozo, P., Atkinson, R. (2010) An extensive Alien Plan Inventory from the Inhabited Areas of Galapagos Plos One/ www.plosone.org. Volume 5/ Issue 4/e10276
  • Stevens, W.D. Ulloa, C., Pool, A., & Montiel, O.M. (2001) Flora de Nicaragua. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 85: i–xlii, 1–2666.
  • Tropicos.org. (2017) Database of Missouri Botanical Garden. Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Oct 2017 <http://www.tropicos.org

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Heliconia latispatha", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=2158. Accessed 4 April 2026.