Corytoplectus cutucuensis

Native to southeastern Ecuador, it is a small perennial herb with thick, upright, succulent stems. Its opposite, oval leaves have scalloped margins and a velvety, quilted surface, dark green above with pale veins and maroon beneath. Clusters of two to four flowers form in the leaf axils. Each flower has pleated, orange-red calyx lobes surrounding a pouch-shaped corolla that is pale yellow at the base and orange above, with small red lobes. The enlarged calyx persists around shiny, translucent white berries through which the black seeds can be seen. Restricted to wet forests in the Cutucú and Cóndor ranges, the species is classified as endangered. Photographed in Ecuador.