Oxypetalum cordifolium

Native from Mexico through tropical South America and the Caribbean, this scrambling subshrub grows in wet tropical habitats. Cream-white flowers have five narrow spreading segments with long, curling tips. Its leaves have lobed, heart-shaped bases and hairy surfaces. Like other milkweeds, its flowers carry pollen in compact masses called pollinia. The elongated fruits are pods that can reach about five inches long. Photographed in Colombia.