Zapoteca andina

Native to the Andes from Ecuador to western Bolivia, this perennial shrub belongs to the pea family and grows about 6 feet tall. Its twice-divided leaves carry many pairs of small, narrow leaflets. The showy powderpuff flower heads consist of tiny flowers with long stamens that are white at the base and reddish purple toward the tips. Its flowers open at night. Flat seed pods follow the flowers. It grows in seasonally dry Andean woodland in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Photographed in Peru.