Miconia affinis

Native from southern Mexico through tropical America and the Greater Antilles, this shrub or tree grows in moist forests, gallery forests, and disturbed habitats. It commonly reaches about six to twenty-six feet tall, although taller trees occur. Small flowers develop in branching clusters and have five petals. Native bees vibrate its tubular anthers to release pollen, and fruit production requires pollen from another plant. Large numbers of flowers can open over a short period of about two days. Fruits take three to four months to ripen, becoming purple-black, and birds and bats disperse the seeds. Photographed in Colombia.