Heliconia rostrata (Mizo-Changelpar, Bangladeshi-Jhulonto Chingri, Popular-Lobster claw/Hanging Heliconia/False bird of paradise/Crabclaw/Toucan beak/Parrot's beak/Flowering banana)Heliconiaceae. It is a herbaceous, perennial and rhizomatous plant growing upto 3 to 6 feet. Leaves are oval with a dark glossy green colour and are very similar to those of the banana tree. The most decorative part of the plant are their bracts. Bracts are modified leaves with a flower or cluster of flowers at the axil. They are thick, erect and found in a variety of colours including the most popular red, orange and yellow. Flowers are shaped like lobster claws or a parrot beak and face downwards. Seeds are small and globular, on ripening, they turn to dark blue or purple. It is widely used as an ornamental in landscapes and gardens. The young shoots can be eaten. Leaves are used for making roofs by natives. It is the national flower of Bolivia and is native to Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Columbia and Venezuela. The plant has antioxidant, antibacterial, analgesic and antidiabetic activities. The phytochemicals are alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, saponins, glycosides, triterpenoids, amino acids, carbohydrates, tannins and reducing sugars. Traditional medicinal healers have been using this plant against different ailments for thousands of years. It is used to treat diabetes and diabetes related edema by the folk medicinal practitioners of Sylhot region of Bangladesh. Leaves and seeds are used to treat headaches, sprains and pains by the medicinal practitioners of Bagarhat, Bangladesh. Rhizome is used to treat jaundice, intestinal pains and high BP by the traditional people of Malaysia. Brazilians claimed that its roots and seeds can be used against various diseases and they used this plant traditionally for centuries.
– Mukherjee Bk
