Heliconia, derived from the Greek word Ἑλικώνιος (helikṓnios), is a genus of flowering plants in the family Heliconiaceae. Most of the ca 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the western Pacific and Maluku. Many species of Heliconia are found in the tropical forests of these regions. Most species are listed as either “vulnerable” or “data deficient” by the IUCN Red List of threatened species.Several species are widely cultivated as ornamentals, and a few are naturalized in Florida, Gambia and Thailand.Common names for the genus include lobster-claws, toucan beak, wild plantains or false bird-of-paradise. The last term refers to their close similarity to the bird-of-paradise flowers (Strelitzia). Collectively, these plants are also simply referred to as heliconias.

These herbaceous plants range from 0.5 to nearly 4.5 meters (1.5–15 feet) tall depending on the species.The simple leaves of these plants are 15–300 cm (6 in–10 ft). They are characteristically long, oblong, alternate, or growing opposite one another on non-woody petioles often longer than the leaf, often forming large clumps with age. Their flowers are produced on long, erect or drooping panicles, and consist of brightly colored waxy bracts, with small true flowers peeping out from the bracts. The growth habit of heliconias is similar to Canna, Strelitzia, and bananas, to which they are related.The flowers can be hues of reds, oranges, yellows, and greens, and are subtended by brightly colored bracts. Floral shape often limits pollination to a subset of the hummingbirds in the region.