Dyschoriste thunbergiiflora (Purple Bells)

Native to Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, this evergreen shrub grows along forest margins and in dry bushland, often on stony soils and rocky hills. Its many branches form a rounded crown with elliptic green leaves. Blue-purple trumpet-shaped flowers emerge from the leaf axils. Each flower has a two-lobed upper lip and a three-lobed lower lip marked with dark purple lines and spots leading into the throat. Cylindrical capsules follow the flowers, usually containing four seeds with hairs that absorb water. Carpenter bees and other insects pollinate the flowers. Photographed in Florida.