Calliandra calothyrsus Meisn., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Low risk (based on second screen), score: 1 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Calliandra houstoniana (Miller) Standley var. calothyrsus

Common name(s): [more details]

English: powderpuff, red calliandra

Samoan: kaliana

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Leafstalks of larger leaves 8-15 cm, their longer interpinnal segments 6-10 (-12) mm; rachis of longer pinnae (4-) 5-8.5 cm; longer leaflets linear acute 4-9 (-10) x 0.65-1.9 mm, either straight or gently incurved.  Inflorescence-axes either glabrous, or puberulent, or pilose, but the peduncles at most thinly so; peduncles (3-) 4-12 (-15) mm; pedicels 2-4.5 mm; perianth commonly glabrous, rarely minropuberulent; calyx 1.6-2.3 x 2.2-3.2 mm, the teeth 0.25-0.6 mm; corolla (6-) 6.5-9.5 (-11.5) mm, the lobes as long as tube or separating to rim of stemonozone; androecium 40-52-merous, usually crimson throughout, occasionally pallid proximally and pink distally.  Pods in profile 8-11 (-12) x 1.1-1.6 cm, commonly glabrous or micropuberulent, less often strigulose or even pilose" (Barneby, 1998; pp. 180-182).

"Slender shrubs, rarely to 10 m tall, nearly glabrous; leaves with 15-20 pairs of pinnae; the leaflets rounded or very obtuse, not curved. Flowers in mimosa-like "powderpuffs", the corolla glabrous or nearly so. Each flower opens for a single night to display showy filaments, which usually are white at the very base and red at the tip (although they may be pink). By the next day, the filaments have wilted, and unfertilized flowers drop. Pods 8-11 cm long, ca 1 cm wide, with 3-15 seeds" (University of Connecticut, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Conservatory).

Habitat/ecology:  "In brush-woodland, along stony river banks, on roadsides, in wastland, and in undisturbed open forest, (2-) 50-1400 (-1650) m" (Barneby 1998). "Along riverbanks or disturbed areas from 0-1900 m" (University of Connecticut, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Conservatory). Also see Purdue University NewCROP web site.

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Mexico to Belize and Panama; cultivated and weedy in interior Hispaniola, and widely planted in the Paleotropics (Barneby, 1998; pp. 180-182).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2000) (p. 33)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 77) Voucher cited: Durand in MacKee 46259
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara M./Newfield, Melanie/Bull, Cate (2004) (p. 39) Specimen collected: BMW 7041 (BISH, CHR, BRI)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar (2003) (pp. 12, 84)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Savai‘i Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 12)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 12)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 54)
Tonga Tongatapu Group	Tongatapu Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 51) Cultivated at MAF Experiment Station.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced cultivated	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 97)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2005)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)

Comments:  Promoted as a forage plant in Australia.

Used for watershed stabilization plantings in Samoa. Little naturalization seen but should be monitored for possible spread (Space & Flynn, 2002).

Additional information:  Information from the Purdue University NewCROP web site.
Information from the World Agroforestry Centre's AgroForestryTree Database.

Additional online information about Calliandra calothyrsus is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Calliandra calothyrsus may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Bailey, L. H./Bailey, E. Z. 1976. Hortus third: A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada. Macmillan, New York. 1290 pp.

Barneby, Rupert C. 1998. Silk tree, guanacaste, monkey's earring: A generic system for the synandrous Mimosaceae of the Americas. Part III. Calliandra. Mem. N.Y. Bot. Gar. 74(3)1-223.

Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Canberra, Australia. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. 208 pp.

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre. 2005. International Legume Database & Information Service. Online searchable database.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2000. Observations on invasive plant species in American Samoa.  USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 51 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2001. Report to the Kingdom of Tonga on invasive plant species of environmental concern.  USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 78 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2002. Report to the Government of Samoa on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 83 pp.

Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara M./Newfield, Melanie/Bull, Cate. 2004. Report to the Government of Niue and the United Nations Development Programme: Invasive plant species on Niue following Cyclone Heta. UNDP NIU/98/G31 - Niue Enabling Activity. 80 pp.

Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Miles, Joel E./Tiobech, Joseph/Rengulbai, Kashgar. 2003. Report to the Republic of Palau on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 174 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.