Eugenia uniflora (Surinam Cherry)

Native to eastern and southern South America, this shrub or small tree has slender twigs, opposite leaves and reddish bark that sheds in strips. Small white flowers bear numerous conspicuous stamens. The fleshy fruit is deeply ribbed, retaining the calyx at its tip and becoming red as it ripens. Long cultivated for its fruit and as an ornamental hedge, the species has been introduced widely and is invasive in southern Florida. Photographed in Colombia.