Ixora casei

Native from the northwestern Pacific to the Gilbert Islands, this plant is a shrub or small tree of wet tropical habitats. It produces rounded clusters of bright red, long-tubed flowers with four spreading lobes and can bloom throughout the year. Rounded fruits ripen dark purple to blackish. Cultivated as an ornamental in tropical gardens, it also has cultural uses in Micronesia: flowers are made into wreaths, while pieces of its woody stems are used in the Pohnpeian dance dokia. Photographed in Barranquilla, Colombia.