Wercklea ferox bears a yellow flower with a pollen-covered staminal column and red stigmas above a bristly calyx

Wercklea ferox

Native from Costa Rica to Ecuador, this shrub belongs to the mallow family and grows in wet tropical forests. Its large, rounded leaves have prominent veins, and its stems bear prickles. Yellow to orange-yellow petals emerge from a red, bristly calyx around a projecting column of stamens. In Colombia, it occurs in the Andes, Pacific region, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and the Cauca and Magdalena valleys between about 200 and 7,900 feet. Photographed in Chocó, Colombia.

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Wercklea ferox bears an orange-yellow flower emerging from a large red bristly calyx

Wercklea ferox bears a yellow flower above a red calyx beside large deeply veined leaves

Wercklea ferox bears an orange flower with spreading petals beside pointed red bristly buds

Wercklea ferox carries a pale yellow flower and red bristly buds beside wrinkled green leaves

A Wercklea ferox flower has a red hairy calyx beneath pale yellow petals and a long staminal column