Hamelia patens Jacq.

Shrubs or small trees, the branchlets glabrous to sparsely villous. Leaves opposite or usually 3-nate or 4-nate (rarely 5-nate), elliptic, ovately elliptic or obovate elliptic, 4-18 cm long, 2.2-7.8 cm wide, deltoid to acuminate at the apex, rounded to acute at the base, the costa slender, the lateral veins 7-10, usually prominulous beneath, chartaceous to membranous, glabrous to densely villous beneath;,petioles 0.5-4.0 cm long; stipules triangular to awl shaped, 2-6 mm long, villous. Inflorescences terminal, solitary or of a few fascicles, the flowers in dichasia, often helicoid, the flowers few to numerous, peduncle glabrate to vil-lous, 0.4-4.0 cm long, the floral axes to 4.5 cm long; bracts triangular, less than 1 mm long, villous, deciduous. Flowers secund, to 2.5 cm long, sessile or sub-sessile, the hypanthium and calycine tube bell shaped, to 4 mm long, glabrate to villous, the lobes ovate, ca. 1 mm long, glabrate or villous, persistent; corolla orange red to red, 12-20 mm long, 2-3 mm wide, glabrous to villous outside, the lobes ovate, to 2 mm long, glabrous to villous; stamens often exserted, the anthers 8-12 mm long, the terminal appendage ca. 0.5 mm long, the filaments shorter than the anthers, attached in the upper 1/3 of the tube; style slender, about equaling the corolla tube, the stigmas oblong, about 1/5 the length of the style; ovary 5-celled. Fruits ellipsoid or rotund, to 1 cm long, black at maturity, the ovarian disc often slightly rostrate; seeds 0.5-1.0 mm long.

A tropical plant. They prefer a rich, moist but well-drained soil. It can tolerate some salt spray. In Argentina it grows from sea level to 1,500 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. In XTBG Yunnan.

The fruit are edible. They are acidic. They are also fermented to make an alcoholic drink. Caution: Alcohol is a cause of cancer.

Plants can be grown from seed or by half ripened cuttings under glass. They can also be grown using air layering.