The tropical plant Psychotria Elata aka ‘hooker’s lips’ or ‘Hot Lips,’ is Latin America’s most kissable plant.
Native to Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama, the shrub’s enchanting red bracts mimic a woman’s luscious lips. Some of nature’s shapes and colors are biologically universal — especially these juicy puckers, which have also developed the nickname “Mick Jagger’s Lips.”
Hooker’s Lips kissed by pollinating butterflies
The plant has evolved its big red shape, a modified set of foot-long leaves, to pucker up and attract pollinators like butterflies and hummingbirds. But the lips are temporary, as they take their unique shape several days after opening.
White flowers emerge inside the plant’s smoochy center between December and March.
Sadly, deforestation and climate change are wiping the species off the Earth. People in Central America are also known to gift the plant during Valentine’s Day. But let’s be sure not to kiss this beautiful plant goodbye.
