Bracketing you with the bracts............

Scienific name:Murssaenda erythrophylla 

This plant is known by many common names, such as Ashanti Blood, Red Flag Bush, Red Mussaenda, Prophet’s Tears, Tropical Dogwood, Virgin Tree, etc. This is a shrub or tree, native to tropical West Africa can reach a height of 30 ft. most ideal as an ornamental plant in parks and public gardens or along roadsides. It flowers non-stop through the year with several flowers borne in branching terminal panicles. Each flower is composed of a small creamish white five-lobed funnel-shaped corolla, with a crimson-red felt center and pubescent beneath, together with a single roundish-ovate and enlarged bright red sepal (bract) measuring 2-5 inches. Mussaenda bracts may be seen in several colors including rose, white, red, pale pink and some mixtures. Attractive to butterflies, bees, hummingbirds and insect pollinators as a nectar plant. This flower i shot on 24th April 2011 while visiting Brindavan Gardens attached to the KRS Dam, Mandya district of Karnataka.