Axinaea macrophylla

Native to the Andes from northwestern Venezuela and Colombia south to Peru, this shrub or tree can reach about 50 feet tall. Its clustered, bell-shaped flowers have white to pink or violet petals that remain partly closed around dark anthers and swollen yellow appendages. Flowerpiercer birds visit the flowers and carry their pollen in Colombia’s Eastern Andes. Dry capsules split open to release numerous tiny seeds. In Colombia, it is grown as an ornamental and used for living fences and shade because it grows well in open areas. Photographed in the department of Cauca, Colombia.