Calliandra emarginata - Dwarf powderpuff
Family Fabaceae
Description:
About two hundred species of Calliandra are native to warm parts of North and South America, Asia and Madagascar. Their small flowers are held in clusters. The showiest parts of the flowers are the long, colorful stamens (the filaments that hold pollen at their tips.) Dwarf powderpuff is native to Mexico and Central America. The pink to red flowers are held in rounded clusters about one and a half to two inches in diameter. It flowers over a long season on new growth. After a cold winter kills it to the ground, it will not flower until late summer or fall. Seed pods are bean-like.
Location:
See plants at the south end of building 15.
Size:
A shrub to about three to five feet tall.
Care Instructions:
Light: full sun to part shade
Water: drought tolerant, responds well to irrigation
Soil: very adaptable, must be well-drained
This plant is at or near its northern limit in Jacksonville. It is evergreen in mild winters. Winter temperatures in the lower 20's F may kill it to the ground but it usually resprouts the following spring. Plant it in a sunny or partly shady, well-drained site. Once established, it is drought tolerant.