Lafoensia punicifolia

Native from southern Mexico to tropical South America, it is a tree of moist forests and stream margins. Its cream to yellow flowers have many long stamens whose filaments become reddish as the flowers age. In Panama, bats pollinate its flowers. Its thick-walled, woody capsules open irregularly; after the outer wall falls away, layers of winged seeds are exposed and dispersed by wind. Its leaves have been used to produce yellow dye, and its wood for cabinetmaking. Photographed in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia.