The Anthurium, commonly known as the Flamingo Flower, is native to the New World tropical regions where around 1,000 species can be found from Mexico all the way down to northern Argentina and Uruguay. These species are mostly found in neotropical surroundings, like the tropical forests of both Central and South America. There are also some species that are native to the wet forests in the West Indies. Other than these areas, you can also find the species in Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, Guiana Shield, and Colombia. As this flower is among the most popular flowering plants, its species are also grown in the rain forests of Asia.
First discovered in 1876 by Edouard Andre, a French botanist, these denizens of the tropical rainforests are at home perching on branches amidst the dense shade of multi-layered vegetation. It wasn’t until 1889 that Samuel Damon first introduced Anthurium andreanum, a native to the wet forests on the slopes of the Andes (1200- 3900ft) from southwest Columbia to northwest Ecuador and to the islands of Hawaii.
- Anthuriums are grown for their lacquered-looking flower spathes and ornamental leaves.
- They come in a variety of colours (red, burgundy, white, pink, orange, green, brown and variegated), sizes and shapes.
- The shiny heart-shaped “flower” of an Anthurium is really a spathe or waxy modified leaf that flares out from the base of the fleshy spike or spadix.
- The real flowers are very small and cover the entire flower stalk, which is called the spadix.
- In order to clearly see these flowers, you would actually have to use a magnifying glass because with the naked eye, they just appear as small bumps.
- The name Anthurium is Greek and comes from ‘anthos’ meaning flower, and ‘oura’ which means tail and refers to the spadix.
