Calceolaria microbefaria

Native to Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Venezuela, this is an herbaceous plant in the Calceolariaceae family. It grows in Andean habitats at elevations ranging from about 8,200 to 12,800 feet above sea level. It primarily grows as a scrambling shrub in its native habitat within the subtropical biome. This species is recognized for its distinctive inflated, slipper-like corollas that are bright yellow, each bloom measuring about 0.4 to 0.6 inches across, with the upper lip much smaller than the lower pouch, a shape that aids in attracting and guiding pollinators such as small bees. The flowers occur in terminal clusters, sometimes numbering over a dozen per stem, and have fine glandular hairs along the pedicels and calyces. Photographed in the eastern Andes mountain range of Colombia.