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Hot Lips plant

Psychotria poeppigiana

Description:

P. poeppigiana is a large shrub. The inflorescences are carried upright or semi-erect and are surrounded by large bracts, colored a conspicuous red, that attract pollinators. The flowers themselves are inconspicuous, with the small yellow petals and sepals forming a narrow corollar tube. Pollinators are mainly hummingbirds, namely small hermit (Phaethornithinae) species like the Black-throated Hermit (Phaethornis atrimentalis), Straight-billed Hermit (P. bourcieri) and Reddish Hermit (P. ruber). They do not insert their bills deeply into the small flowers, and thus the pollinators of the Sore-mouth Bush include curved- and straight-billed species alike. Info from wikipedia

Habitat:

It ranges widely in the tropical Americas, from Chiapas, Oaxaca, Tabasco and Veracruz in Mexico to the very north of Argentina. It does not occur on the Pacific side of the American cordillera however, and is thus absent from El Salvador and Chile. It is probably also absent from Uruguay and Paraguay. Info from wikipedia

1 Species ID Suggestions

Hot lips
Psychotria poeppigiana Psychotria poeppigiana


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3 Comments

ginhunter
ginhunter 11 years ago

Thanks for the info Anne!

MayraSpringmann
MayraSpringmann 11 years ago

Beautiful!

Anne Marie McCaffrey
Anne Marie McCaffrey 11 years ago

In Costa Rica it is known as "Beso de Novia", bride's kiss.

ginhunter
Spotted by
ginhunter

San José, Costa Rica

Spotted on Jul 18, 2011
Submitted on May 13, 2012

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