Redhead

Hamelia patens is a large evergreen shrub or small tree of the family Rubiaceae, typically 2 to 5 metres tall and occasionally reaching 8 metres, native from the southern United States through Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and into northern South America. The stems are slender and reddish, with finely pubescent young growth. Leaves are arranged in whorls of three to four, elliptic to obovate, 7 to 18 centimetres long, with reddish veins, finely hairy surfaces and entire margins; foliage often flushes reddish-purple, especially in full sun. The flowers are borne in terminal, branched scorpioid cymes and are tubular, bright orange-red to scarlet, 1.5 to 2.5 centimetres long, with five short lobes, attracting hummingbirds and large butterflies as primary pollinators. The fruit is a small ovoid berry that ripens through orange and red to glossy black, edible with an acidic flavour. The plant grows in tropical lowland forest understorey, edges, secondary growth and disturbed sites, flowering and fruiting almost continuously where frosts are absent.