My mystery plant bloomed today and what a colourful flower it has.

It’s been a few weeks now that I’ve been watching and waiting for this plant to bloom. I had thought it was a purple ruellia but when the red balls opened and flowers started to appear, I realized it was something else. Well, today there were five flowers that opened and what a treat. Bright red petals around a central yellow flower. I looked it up and it is called a Butterfly Weed or Wild Ipecac and is much loved as a food by the Monarch butterfly. It grows throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands and has been used for medicinal purposes.  You can make a poultice from the crushed leaves that emit a white milky latex and apparently the plant has antifungal, antiviral and anticarcinogenic properties.  Poultices have been applied to warts, ringworm and tumours and a powder made from the crushed roots of the Wild Ipecac is said to induce vomiting.

Closeup of the vibrant red-orange and yellow flowers of the Wild Ipecac