As its common names firebush , hummingbird bush, and firecracker bush imply, Hamelia patens puts on a spectacular display of orange to red clusters of tubular flowers that bloom from spring to fall. A lover of hot weather, firebush is native to the tropical regions of Southern Florida, Southern Texas, Central America, South America and the West Indies, where it can grow as a semi-evergreen rather tall and wide. Hamelia patens is a beautiful flowering species of small trees or perennial shrubs belonging to the coffee tree or madder family, Rubiaceae.