Heliocarpus americanus

Native from Mexico to southern tropical America, this is a fast-growing tree. Small greenish flowers develop in branched clusters at the ends of shoots. Its flattened fruits have a fringe of slender bristles and change from pink to brown as they mature. In Colombia, its inner bark is used to clarify sugarcane juice during panela production, while the outer bark supplies fiber for cordage. Its lightweight wood is used for models, handicrafts and boxes. It has become naturalized and invasive in Hawaiʻi. Photographed in the western Andes mountain range of Colombia.