Common Name: Red Calliandra

General Information

Calliandra calothyrsus is a fast-growing, small, thornless shrub, usually growing 5 - 6 metres tall but with some specimens in ideal conditions growing up to 12 metres[]. Usually multi-stemmed, often with 3 - 5 or more small crooked stems that are 5 - 30cm in diameter[]. The tree is evergreen in humid climates and semi-deciduous in areas with a long dry season[].
The plant is often cultivated as a soil improver and companion plant, and is a highly productive fuel wood crop[]. It is also often grown around houses, the dense foliage providing shade and protection against the rain, whilst its beautiful red 'powder puff' flowers make it an attractive ornamental[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Central America - central Panama, north to southern Mexico.

Habitat

Secondary vegetation, often in thickets[]. It is an aggressive colonizer on disturbed sites such as recent landslides and roadsides[]. Dry to wet thickets, often on steep open slopes, at elevations of 300 - 1,800 metres[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Shrub
Height	6.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Pollinators	Insects, Bats
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

A plant of moderate elevations in the humid and subhumid tropics[]. It can succeed at elevations up to 1,800 metres, but does best at 250 - 800 metres[]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 22 - 30°c, but can tolerate 18 - 34°c[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 2,000 - 4,000mm, but tolerates 700 - 5,000mm[]. It can tolerate a 3 - 6 month dry period[].
Prefers a position in full sun[]. Grows well on a wide range of soil types but prefers light textured, slightly acidic soils[]. It can tolerate infertile and compacted or poorly aerated soils but does not tolerate waterlogged and alkaline soils[]. Plants will die of oxygen starvation within two weeks if the soil is waterlogged[]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 6, tolerating 4.5 - 7.5[].
The tree is drought hardy, it fixes nitrogen and regenerates rapidly. It is so hardy and reproduces so easily that it may become a weed of sorts and may be difficult to keep in check[].
Seedlings grow very quickly, they can be 2.5 - 3.5 metres tall within 6 months and 3 - 5 metres within the first year[].
Flowering may start in the first year, but good fruit set does not start until the second[]. Fruits ripen 3 months after anthesis[]. The plants will often flower all year round[].
When grown for fuel, wood yields have been reported in the order of 15 - 40 tonnes per hectare just one year after planting, with annual coppice harvests continuing for 10 - 20 years[, ].
Annual wood production potential is 5 - 65 m3/ha[].
The rootstock is very vigorous and will resprout readily when coppiced[]. Yields are extremely good - just 6 months after being cut at 50cm from the ground new growth 3 metre high has been formed[].
Returns from charcoal production are higher than fuel wood because the wood is a quick burner[]. The plant can produce 14 tonnes per hectare of charcoal annually[].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

None known

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant can be used to rehabilitate erosion-prone areas such as slopes and stream banks, and to recover land exhausted by agriculture, where it easily dominates undesired weeds such as Eupatorium spp., Saccharum spp., and Imperata cylindrica[, ].
It is used as a nurse tree for partially shade-tolerant timber trees such as Agathis species[].
The ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen, high leaf biomass production and high yields of protein leaf material on less fertile soils make this species very suitable as a green manure and it is used in alley-cropping systems. Due to litter and the combination of a deep and well-developed lateral rooting system, the soil and productivity of the land is improved[]. However, the relatively high level of tannins present in its leaves slows the rate of microbial breakdown of the organic matter[].
It is compatible with crops, with both deep roots and extensive fibrous roots. It has shown promise as an understorey plant in coconut plantations with about 60% light transmission[].
The plant is suitable for hedgerow boundaries[].
The flowers provide a rich source of nectar for bees[].

Other Uses

The wood of Calliandra species is generally of medium-texture, heavy, hard, strong and easy to work, but not highly lustrous. Where large enough, the wood can be used for small carpentry work, implement handls, frames etc[]
The pulp and papermaking properties are satisfactory and are comparable to dipterocarps and appropriate for kraft paper manufacture. The pulp is easily bleached, but wood dimensions are generally small, making handling and chipping difficult[].
A good firewood species because it is fast growing, multi-stemmed, easy to regenerate and thornless[]. The wood is suitable as a smoking fuel for the production of smoked sheet rubber[]. There has been a demand for smoking fuel since old rubber trees, the traditional source, are increasingly used by furniture manufacturers[]. The wood is also used to make charcoal[].

Propagation

Seed - the seed has a hard coat and requires pre-treatment by scarification. This can be carried out by carefully abrading some of the seed coat (being careful not to damage the embryo) to allow the ingress of water. A simpler method is to immerse the seed in a small amount of almost boiling water (which cools down quickly enough so that it does not kill the seed) and then soak it for 12 - 24 hours in warm water before sowing. Seed germination occurs after 4 days and continues for 21 days with most seed germinating between 10 - 25 days from sowing[]. Seedlings grow away very quickly and can be 2.5 metres or more tall within 6 months[].
Seed viability can be maintained for several years in hermetic storage at 3°c with 6-10% moisture content[].
The plant can also be propagated from stem cuttings[].

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