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Fabaceae
Red Powder Puff
Calliandra haematocephala
Explosive beauty and tropical exuberance.
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Genus
- Calliandra
- Native to
- Bolivia
- Bloom season
- Autumn, Winter, Spring
- Type
- evergreen shrub or small tree
- Height
- 200–500 cm
- Sunlight
- full sun
- Soil
- well-drained, acidic to neutral
- Water
- medium
- Hardiness
- 9–11
- Lifespan
- long-lived perennial shrub
Did you know
- The showy part of the flower is not petals but hundreds of long, silky red stamens radiating outward.
- The genus name Calliandra comes from Greek 'kalos' (beautiful) and 'andros' (stamens) — 'beautiful stamens'.
- Hummingbirds and butterflies are the main pollinators, drawn to the nectar at the base of the stamen tufts.
- The compound leaves fold closed at night (nyctinasty) and reopen each morning with the light.
- When the seed pods dry, they split open explosively, flinging seeds several meters from the parent plant.
Color meanings
Red
dazzling energy and celebration