Growing up in Hawaii, I have always known this flower as the Heliconia, the Bird of Paradise has a single bloom on a long hard stem and grows upright rather than hanging down.

Yes, that is mostly correct. However, a native Belizian claims that they call it the "Bird of Paradise". I too had questioned the correctness of the name.

I guess it just depends on where you are... here we have the mexican "bird of paradise" shrub. It's still pretty and makes me want to go back to Hawaii! Thanks for the sharing. :-)

Whatever it is, it's very pretty!