Calliandra californica, the Baja fairy duster, is an evergreen, woody shrub, native to Baja California, Mexico. In Spanish, the plant is also known vernacularly as tabardillo,zapotillo[2] or chuparosa.[3] The flowers, which appear in early summer, have clusters of red stamens. The shrub is usually 0.6–1.8 metres (2 ft 0 in – 5 ft 11 in) in height and has bipinnate leaves. The leaves have been described as "fern-like."[4] Leaves close at night time.[5]
Calliandra californica is cold tolerant to temperatures of 22 °F (−6 °C),[5] though its roots will tolerate temperatures as low as 5 °F (−15 °C).[6] It grows best in full sun.[5]C. californica is very drought tolerant, needing only 10 inches (250 mm) of water every year.[6] However, additional watering will encourage C. californica to bloom through summer and again in the fall.[6]
Propagation of C. californica is done through "acid scarification" or vegetative cutting.[5] Seed pods from this plant look like "snow peas" and when ripe, they explode.[4] The pods are flat and about 2 inches (51 mm) long.[6] After ejecting seeds, the curled open pods remain attached to the plant for some time.[7]
^Rich Bailowitz and Jim Brock. "Southeastern Arizona"(PDF). North American Butterfly Association. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2007-07-12. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
