Heterocentron elegans

Native from Mexico to Honduras, this creeping herb has woody stems and forms a low mat. Its solitary magenta to mauve flowers arise on lateral branches. The stamens occur in two distinct sizes: the larger ones have purple anthers, while the smaller ones have yellow anthers. Cultivated as an ornamental groundcover, it is also recorded as naturalized in Colombia. In Bogotá, it serves as a food plant for the caterpillars of the day-flying moth Erateina siliquata. Photographed in Bogotá, Colombia.