Flowers in the Rainforest - The Virtual Rainforest by Gerald Urquhart - Orchids, Passion Flowers, Hot Lips Flower

Hot Lips Flower (Psychotria poeppigiana)
The beautiful flower on the right is a "Hot Lips" bush, a small shrub that lives under the rainforest canopy in the dark "understory." The bright red color attracts birds to pollinate and disperse seeds.

Passion Flower - Passiflora Passion Flower (Passiflora sp.)
The passion flower is one of the most elaborate of all flowers found in the rainforest. It has rings of nectar producing parts found in no other types of flowers. They are the maroon and white stuff in the center of the flowers.

The passion flower gets its name from its appearance rather than it actually causing passion. The reproductive parts of the flower (the yellow anthers and red stigma) resemble the crown of thorns that Jesus wore during the "passion," his sufferings before crucifixion.

Passion-flower plants are vines. Many of the vines are found in the forest canopy and send their flowers down on long stems so that they can be in the understory where their pollinators live.

Some other beautiful flowers of the rainforest:

Heliconia wagnerianna

Spathiphyllum friedrichsthalli

Heliconia species

Heliconia wagnerianna is a flower related to bananas. It is pollinated by hummingbirds. The Peace Lily (Spahiphyllum friedrichstahlli) is a common plant in swamps in the rainforest. It makes a great houseplant too. This Heliconia flower makes hummingbirds hover and its curved flowers favor hummers with curved beaks.

Why do you think plants that live in the understory of a rainforest make such great house plants? (answer below)

Rainforest understory plants do not get much sunlight, so they have evolved to survive in low light conditions. Our houses and offices often do not have enough light for sun-loving plants to survive, but shade-lovers like the Peace Lily do great.

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