The Firecracker Flower (Crossandra infundibuliformis) or Tropic Flame is a beautiful shrub, from 1-3 feet tall that can also be used as a ground cover. The bright flowers perk up spots in a garden, almost all year round, and are set off by deep green, oval, evergreen leaves. Flowers are about 2 inch long, compact spikes of yellows, salmons, lilac and even red, funnel shaped with prominent bracts.

This beautiful shrub like partial shade to full sun, making it very useful in a garden. As a container plant, they usually like to be re-potted into a bigger pot in February or March, when new shoots start. They like regular water during spring and summer, a bit less is needed during fall or winter.

The Firecracker Flower got its name from it's unusual method of seed dispersal. The fruits will dry out on the plant. When the fruits are re-introduced to water, the seeds inside the dry fruits will "explode" out and the seeds are flung out of the fruits, sometimes up to 10 feet away.