Iochroma cyaneum (Violet Tubeflower)

Native to Ecuador and Peru, this rapidly growing shrub has an open, loosely branched crown. Its soft green leaves are hairy, especially beneath. Pendulous flowers gather in dense clusters at branch tips or in leaf axils. The slender tubular corollas are commonly blue, purple, mauve, or lilac, sometimes with a pale throat; cultivated forms show considerable color variation. Small green to greenish white fruits follow flowering. Cultivated for its abundant flowers, it can spread by strong suckers. It is poisonous if eaten. Photographed in Colombia.