Heliconia stricta is a plant species native to
Brazil,
Colombia,
Venezuela,
Ecuador,
Peru,
Bolivia,
Guyana,
Suriname, reproducing by seeds and by underground rhizomes. It is reportedly naturalized in
Cuba and
Puerto Rico, and cultivated as an ornamental in many other warm regions.[1][2][3] The young leaves and bracts retain water, forming pools called
phytotelmata, which provide habitat for diverse invertebrates.[4]
^Huber, Jacob E. 1906. Boletim do Museo Goeldi de Historia Natural e Ethnographia. Belém. 4: 543, Heliconia stricta
^Andersson, L. 1981. Revision of Heliconia sect. Heliconia (Musaceae). Nordic Journal of Botany 1(6): 759–784.
^Jalinsky, J., T.A. Radocy, R. Wertenberger, & C.S. Chaboo. 2014. Insect diversity in phytotelmata habitats of two host plants, Heliconia stricta Huber (Heliconiaceae) and Calathea lutea Schult (Marantaceae) in the south-east Amazon of Peru. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 87(3): 299–311.