Alternanthera pubiflora

Native from Mexico to Chile, this upright to climbing perennial herb or subshrub reaches about six and a half feet tall. Its stems and leaves vary from nearly hairless to densely hairy. Rounded or cylindrical flowerheads appear at the stem tips and in the leaf axils. Their papery floral structures may be white, pink, greenish white, or marked with yellow. It grows in forests, woodlands, savannas and disturbed ground. Photographed in Colombia.