I’ve seen a lot of heliconia flowers over the years, but spotted this fuzzy flower in a display at the Elks Lodge on the beach in Waikiki. I’ve never seen one of these before, and at first thought they were fake. But, no, they certainly feel and look real.

You can click on the photo to see a larger version.

So I turned to my iPhone app, PlantSnap. Take a photo, open it in the app, and in a few seconds it tells you what plant you’re looking at.

This turns out to be a “Heliconia Xanthovillosa,” or Shogun heliconia, apparently one of the rare varieties.

According to the website for Hawaii Island Tropical Farm:

Heliconia Xanthovillosa ‘Shogun’ is one of the rarest varieties of heliconias. A more challenging heliconia to grow with a 3-5 year period before blooms these will be worth the wait. You are rewarded with a carpeted dramatic pendant that reaches lengths of 3-5 ft .

Now I’m going to have to find where I can score a couple of these to add to our yard!