The red bird-of-paradise varies from a shrub or small tree to an gangling 20′ (6.1 m) tree,
depending upon climate. Believed to be native to the West Indies and tropical America,
it has escaped cultivation and become naturalized in tropical regions throughout the world.
Identification: Like its cousin the
yellow bird-of-paradise,
red bird-of-paradise has crinkly five-petaled flowers with long thin bright red stamens. Flowers of
the red variety are brilliant orange and red. Leaves are bipinnate, fernlike in appearance.
This photo by Martin LaBar won Botany Photo of the Day in 2006