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Heliconia psittacorum


Heliconia psittacorum
Photo Information
Copyright: Carmem Busko (carmem_busko) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 76 W: 32 N: 89] (427)
Genre: Plants
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2004
Categories: Flowers
Camera: Olympus OM 2000, Vivitar 28-210, UV
Exposure: f/3.6
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Heliconia [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2004-12-06 22:50
Viewed: 3754
Points: 18
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
The reddish pointed structures are called bracts. These tough, leathery structures protect the actual flower, which is yellow and quite delicate. The hummingbird that comes to this flower has a bill precisely shaped to fit into the flower. When the bird feeds, it receives a meal of nectar and in return, the plant's flower is pollinated.
Heliconia L. is a large genus of attractive monocots, mostly indigenous to the Neotropics. The genus is made up of about 100 species along with a large number of hybrids and cultivars. They are related to bananas, cannas and gingers and traditionally have been included in the Banana Family (Musaceae). Most recent authors prefer to interpret the genus Heliconia as making up the one-genus family Heliconiaceae. There are about seven species indigenous to the Caribbean, but no wild heliconias in Barbados.

General appearance of the Heliconias:

Heliconia leaves look more or less like banana leaves. The bases of the petioles are broadened and overlapped with each other to form a thick sheath around a comparatively thin stem.

The underground portion is dominated by the rhizome, which is a horizontal underground stem.

They have narrow tubular flowers with inferior ovaries. The floral tubes are made up of six variably fused tepals (sepals and petals).

Within the flowers are the pollen-producing stamens and the pollen-receptive stigma on a long style.

The flowers are mostly hidden by large, colourful specialised leaves called bracts. The bracts are what give heliconias their horticultural value. The bracts vary in colouration, size, shape, arrangement, degree of crowding, texture, number, and other details.

The tubular flowers tend to have a "lock & key" fit with the beaks of the hummingbirds that pollinate most neotropical heliconias. Plants pollinated by hummingbirds tend toward such tubular flowers, and toward bright "parrot colours": reds, oranges, and sometimes bright yellows or bright greens.

Hybridization in the Heliconias:

Hybridization between heliconia species is probably uncommon in nature (a notable exception being hybrids between Heliconia bihai and H. caribaea species in the Caribbean ), but is becoming more common in cultivation as species that would not naturally be exposed to each other come into close proximity, and share pollinators.

http://www.junglephotos.com/plants/heliconias/hpsittacorum.html
http://andromeda.cavehill.uwi.edu/Heliconias%20page.htm

Neat image slightly applied on bg.
Framed with PSP 8.0 (adding borders and 3-d effects)
cristie, red45, RAP, mogens-j, Luc has marked this note useful
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ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To maira: Desculpecarmem_busko 3 02-16 20:23
To RAP: De acordocarmem_busko 1 12-07 08:20
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Critiques [Translate]

Very beautiful clean shot. Note is fantastic!

Very good shot, great colors, nice frame.
Well done.

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2705 W: 74 N: 8864] (30243)
  • [2004-12-07 4:35]

I like this kind of simply, geometric shots. Very good composition and colours, sharp with blurred BG. Nice work!

  • Great 
  • RAP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2524 W: 345 N: 2373] (7405)
  • [2004-12-07 6:56]
  • [3] [+]

Bonita y artística composicion Carmen.
La nitidez y el colorido, además de su perspectiva son los puntos fuertes de la imagen.
Excelente DOF... solo criticaría el encuadre del lado derecho donde se ha cortado la punta de la hoja.

Pretty and artistic composition Carmen.
The clearness and the colorful, in addition to their perspective are the strongpoints of the image.
Excellent DOF... only I would criticize the frame of the right side where the end of the leaf has been cut.

Very clever use of complementary colours Carmen - great effect. The dof is just perfect. Only nit - I would crop off about half of the space in the top to bring the beautiful flower a little mor up in the frame. Very pleasant to look at.

  • Great 
  • livios Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2156 W: 322 N: 4258] (16906)
  • [2004-12-07 21:19]
  • [2]

Carmem, serviço completo aqui. Grande foto e uma nota muito esclarecedora. Bacana a interação entre a planta e o beija-flor. Dá até vontade de tentar flagrar um beija-flor por perto. Mas você é de São Paulo; a foto foi tirada no Rio...

À parte essas digressões, ótimo, delicado e vistoso trabalho. Parabéns.

Lívio

  • Great 
  • japie Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1814 W: 100 N: 1904] (5187)
  • [2004-12-07 22:18]

This is beautiful. I like the simple composition. On the one side I have a nit about the part of the flower that has been cropped off, but on the other side I like it in this composition.

Very well done and thanks for posting

  • Great 
  • Luc Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1873 W: 304 N: 4300] (14729)
  • [2004-12-08 22:58]

A great post Carmem: picture and note.
Thanks

  • Great 
  • maira Gold Star Critiquer [C: 169 W: 8 N: 0] (0)
  • [2005-02-15 18:42]
  • [2] [+]

Bonita foto, bonita cores e contraste, uma "pintura".

Só acho que você deveria escrever em português também, quando fizer upload aparecerá 2 boxes (estando português habilitado) e poderá por em 2 línguas. Os dados técnicos da foto são automaticamente "puxados" pelo TN. Gaste mais, em notas, sobre sua obra, o porque da foto! Esta é minha campanha, valorização de nossas coisas, inclusive de brasileiros criticando mais brasileiros, não desmerecendo logicamente membros de outros paises, SEM ESSA INTENÇÃO de bairrismo. Percebam que os membros de outros paises valorizam seus patrícios (pelos pontos obtidos e quantias de críticas), dá a impressão que nós temos vergonha de nossa língua e nossos colegas membros, fotos de brasileiros são tão lindas como. Isso acontece no TE,TL e TN.
Desculpem, amo meu pais e não tenho vergonha de ser brasileira. Obrigada.

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