Calliandra eriophylla

Common Name: Fairy Duster, False Mesquite
Oˊodham Name: Cu:wĭĭwuipo Audio
Group: Shrubs － Desert, Desert Grassland

Description

Calliandra eriophylla is a low growing shrub that looks like a tiny Mesquite up to 4 ft tall and grows in a variety of soils between 1500 and 4500 ft. Its tough, flexible, securely-rooted branches help it establish a presence on rapidly eroding hillsides and wash banks, and make it useful for erosion control and restoring overgrazed lands. Large fluffy flowers having unusually long pink filaments appear in Spring and occasionally during the Monsoon.

Classification

Kingdom Plantae － Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta － Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta － Seed plants

Division Magnoliophyta － Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida － Dicotyledons

Subclass Rosidae

Order Fabales

Family Fabaceae － Pea family

Genus Calliandra Benth. － stickpea

Species Calliandra eriophylla Benth. － fairyduster

More Information

USDA Plant Profile and Map