Acalypha herzogiana (Dwarf Chenille Plant)

Native to Bolivia, Paraguay, northeastern Argentina and southern and southeastern Brazil, this plant is a low-growing evergreen subshrub. Its trailing stems also cascade over walls. The cultivated form usually stays about 6 inches tall and can flower throughout the year in warm climates. Its fuzzy red spikes consist of hundreds of closely packed flowers, with long red styles creating the chenille-like texture. These showy flowers lack ovaries; the plant also produces smaller, inconspicuous female flowers. The cultivated form is sterile and is propagated from cuttings, which root readily. Photographed in Armenia, Colombia.