Puerto Rico -- Anthurium andraeanum

This plant here, commonly called flamingo lily, is one of the first plants I remember noticing. I think the first plant I was ever conscious of was marigolds from my parents' place in New Jersey, but then I remember seeing this wild things growing everywhere when we lived in Kuala Lumpur.


I remember being fascinated by the waxy 'petal.' Of course, now I know the red part of the flower below is a spadix, or a modified bract. The business side of the flower is really taking place on the whitish conical structure, called a spathe.

On this spathe, hundreds of miniature flowers are arranged, for pollinators as varied as hummingbirds and flies.

The leaf shape may look familiar -- it's typical for plants in the Araceae or Arum family which includes the popular annual Caladium.