Fridericia chica

Native from central Mexico through tropical America, this woody climber grows in forest understories, along roadsides, and high in the forest canopy. Its dark green leaves have two or three leaflets, with a climbing tendril sometimes replacing the terminal leaflet. Branching clusters carry purple to magenta, tubular flowers. Long, narrow capsules split to release winged seeds. Its leaves provide a red dye traditionally used by Indigenous communities for coloring fibers and body painting. Photographed in northern Colombia.