Petrea rugosa

An evergreen shrub native to Panama, Colombia, and Venezuela, it belongs to the Verbenaceae family. It grows to about ten feet tall, with hairy, four-sided branches. Its simple, elliptic to oblong leaves have rough surfaces and hairs beneath. Racemes arise along the stems and bear blue or white flowers with five broad corolla lobes. The calyx remains on the plant after the corolla falls. The species occurs in low deciduous forests and along riverbanks. Photographed in Medellin, Colombia.