Calliandra is a genus of flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

s in the pea

Pea

A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Peapods are botanically a fruit, since they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in cooking...

 family, Fabaceae

Fabaceae

The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...

, subfamily Mimosoideae

Mimosoideae

Mimosoideae is a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae characterized by flowers with small petals and numerous prominent stamens...

. It contains about 200 species that are native to tropical

Tropics

The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately  N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at  S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...

 and subtropical

Subtropics

The subtropics are the geographical and climatical zone of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropical zone, which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, at latitudes 23.5°N and 23.5°S...

 regions of southern Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and the Americas

Americas

The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

.

Biological description

The genus comprises herbaceous

Herbaceous plant

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...

 perennial plant

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...

s, shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

s and rarely small tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

s growing 0.5–6 m tall, with bipinnate leaves. The flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s have numerous long slender stamen

Stamen

The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...

s, and are produced in cylindrical or globose inflorescence

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

s; the stamens give rise to the common name of Powder-puff/ Powder puff Plant and Fairy Duster. These plants flower all year round, but the best blooming is in spring and summer. They can be easily pruned.

Species

Selected species

Calliandra bella Calliandra bella Calliandra bella is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in Fabaceae family.-References:*... Benth. Calliandra biflora Calliandra biflora Calliandra biflora is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... Tharp Calliandra brevipes Calliandra brevipes Calliandra brevipes is an attractive shrub with finely divided leaves and clusters of red powder-puff flowers. It is native to southeastern Brazil, Uruguay, and northern Argentina.... Benth. Calliandra californica Calliandra californica Calliandra californica , is a shrub which is native to Mexico. The flowers, which appear in early summer, have clusters of red stamens... Benth. Calliandra chilensis Calliandra chilensis Calliandra chilensis is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... Benth. Calliandra conferta Calliandra conferta Calliandra conferta is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... Benth. Calliandra cruegeri Calliandra cruegeri Calliandra cruegeri is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... Griseb. Calliandra dysantha Calliandra dysantha Calliandra dysantha is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... Benth. Calliandra eriophylla Calliandra eriophylla Calliandra eriophylla, commonly known as Fairy Duster, is a low spreading shrub which is native to deserts and arid grasslands in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas and Mexico.... Benth. Calliandra erubescens Calliandra erubescens Calliandra erubescens is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... Renvoize Calliandra foliolosa Calliandra foliolosa Calliandra foliolosa is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... Benth. Calliandra grandiflora Calliandra grandiflora Calliandra grandiflora is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... (L'Hér.) Benth. Calliandra guildingii Calliandra guildingii Calliandra guildingii is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... Benth. Calliandra haematocephala Calliandra haematocephala Calliandra haematocephala is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... Hassk. Calliandra haematomma Calliandra haematomma Calliandra haematomma is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... (Bertero ex DC.) Benth. Calliandra harrisii Calliandra harrisii Calliandra harrisii is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*...   Benth.

Calliandra houstoniana Calliandra houstoniana Calliandra houstoniana is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... (Mill.) Standl. Calliandra humilis Calliandra humilis Calliandra humilis is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... Benth. Calliandra inaequilatera Calliandra inaequilatera Calliandra inaequilatera is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... Rusby Calliandra juzepczukii Calliandra juzepczukii Calliandra juzepczukii is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... Standl. Calliandra laxa Calliandra laxa Calliandra laxa is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... (Willd.) Benth. Calliandra macrocalyx Calliandra macrocalyx Calliandra macrocalyx is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... Harms Calliandra macrocephala Calliandra macrocephala Calliandra macrocephala is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... Benth. Calliandra parviflora Calliandra parviflora Calliandra parviflora is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... Benth. Calliandra parvifolia Calliandra parvifolia Calliandra parvifolia is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... (Hook. & Arn.) Speg. Calliandra peninsularis Calliandra peninsularis Calliandra peninsularis is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... Rose Calliandra physocalyx Calliandra physocalyx Calliandra physocalyx is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... H. M. Hern. & M. Sousa Calliandra purpurea Calliandra purpurea Calliandra purpurea is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... (L.) Benth. Calliandra riparia Calliandra riparia Calliandra riparia is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... Pittier Calliandra surinamensis Calliandra surinamensis Calliandra surinamensis is a low branching evergreen tropical shrub that is named after Suriname, a country in Northern South America. The plant usually has complexly branched multiple trunks and grows to a height of about 5 metres, although many sources suggest that it only attains a height of 3... Benth. Calliandra tergemina Calliandra tergemina Calliandra tergemina is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... (L.) Benth. Calliandra tweediei Calliandra tweediei Calliandra tweediei is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the Fabaceae family.-References:*... Benth.