The parrot Heliconia is a native to Central and South America. It is a natural in tropical and sub-tropical gardens and makes an outstanding specimen in a greenhouse. There are at least fourteen cultivated varieties of the parrot Heliconia--some as short as 18 inches, others to six feet tall. But all the species of Heliconia have otherworldly flower spikes that last for weeks, both on the plant and in a vase. Perhaps the otherworldliness of the flowers inspired Linnaeus to name these plants after a legend.

Linnaeus named the genus for Mount Helikon, the abode of Apollo and the Muses. The Muses were kindly immortals, nymphs who presided over art, literature, and science. They haunted beautiful and sacred places where mankind could go to receive inspiration. During the age of legends, Mount Helikon (Elikon) in east central Greece is said to have been such a place. From the base of the mountain arose the fountains of Aganippe and Hippocrene. To drink of these fountains gave enlightenment and inspiration.

Phaeton was the son of Apollo and a mortal nymph Clymene. Because the other schoolboys would not believe him to be the son of a god, he took his father's chariot, the Sun, to drive across the heavens. As a mortal, Phaeton could not control the fiery steeds and so he destroyed the Mediterranean world. Among the many things torched by the Sun were the great forests of Mount Helikon and the fountains of Aganippe and Hippocrene. To save the world from chaos, Zeus threw a bolt of lightning and knocked Phaeton from the chariot. Phaeton's burning body fell like a shooting star into a great river.

It is interesting to note at the start of the age of science Linnaeus would chose names subtly reminding us of the time when we explained our world by the kindness or carelessness of other beings.