Achimenes mexicana

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  • Photographer: Leslie Brothers, courtesy the Smithsonian Institution
  • Grown by: Smithsonian Institution greenhouses, USBRG 94-476

Images copyright by the individual photographers or their institutions.


Achimenes mexicana is characterized its blue/purple corolla color, paired by a pure white throat with a broad entrance. It’s likely pollinated by bees, as distinct from species like A. longiflora which have narrow throat openings suitable for the proboscis of a pollinating moth.

This species is restricted to several states in Mexico, unlike a number of other species which are widely distributed through Central America and beyond. It has been the subject of considerable horticultural interest for a long time — an antique print from 1853 illustrates a hybrid between A. mexicana and A. patens, and and an earlier print shows a hybrid of A. mexicana with what is now known as a Smithiantha.

Additional photos in a slideshow may be seen by clicking one of the links below: