Ceratostema megabracteatum

Endemic to Ecuador, this shrub in the heath family grows on the ground or as an epiphyte on trees and reaches about 10 feet tall. Its leathery leaves have hairy undersides. Hanging clusters carry 10 to 25 fleshy, pinkish-red tubular flowers with spreading purple-black lobes and golden-yellow anthers. Large, persistent bracts partly cover the flowers and can reach nearly 3 inches long. The berries change from green to purple as they ripen. Around Cosanga in Ecuador’s Napo province, it grows in cloud forests between about 6,100 and 7,350 feet. The species is endangered. Photographed in Cayambe Coca Ecological Reserve, Ecuador.