Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, St. Petersburg, Florida July 2020

Talk about showy! It is easy to see how this large shrub earned a couple of its common names. The orange-red flowers of Firebush or Redhead (Hamelia patens) are clearly spectacular.

Native to the American subtropics (including Florida), it blooms for months at a time, making it quite popular with pollinators. I also learned that the red-black berries are edible, though not on the sweet side. I’ll be looking for some to try next time.