Cavendishia quereme

Native from Costa Rica through Panama to Colombia, this evergreen shrub in the heath family grows in soil or on trees and reaches about 3 to 8 feet tall. It inhabits rainforests, mountain cloud forests, and disturbed trailsides. In Colombia, it is recorded between about 1,000 and 7,700 feet. Its glossy leaves have deeply impressed veins. Pink or red bracts surround small, bottle-shaped flowers that are orange through the middle and white at the base and tips. In Colombia’s Cauca and Valle del Cauca departments, it is cultivated locally; flowering branches are exchanged as tokens of affection. Photographed in Colombia.