Calliandra eriophylla

Common Name: Fairy Duster, False Mesquite
O’odham 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

Arizona Distribution Map (USDA)