Red powder puff (Calliandra haematocephala)

Family: Leguminosae

Description: This is an evergreen shrub or small tree of 4 to 5 metres, which will grow as wide as it is high. The compound leaves that fold up tightly at night are a rich shiny green that appear almost fern-like. The powder puff inflorescence is made up of numerous individual flowers each containing several, long conspicuous, scarlet stamen.

Place of origin: It is native to the tropical forests of South America, where it was first described in 1855 by Justus Carl Hasskarl (1811-1894) who collected plants in Peru and Bolivia in the early 1850’s.

Did you know? Calliandras are members of the pea family (Leguminosae), its name comes from the Greek kalos meaning beautiful and aner meaning man, referring to the prominence of the male stamen.