Scientific Family
Fabaceae
Synonyms
Calliandra herbacea
Other common names
false mesquite
mountain calliandra
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
Up to 8 inches
Riparian
No
A low-growing herb with woody base distinguished by its spreading habit, lack of spines, relatively compound leaves with many leaflets, showy white stamens and its flattened pods with thickened margins.
Perennial, woody based, slender herbaceous branches up to 8 inches long; leaves bipinnate, 3 to 9 pairs of small, smooth, oblong, 1/4 inch long by 1/16 inch wide leaflets. Flowers many in rounded clusters with long filamentous stamens.
Habitat
Dry soils in oak and pine woodlands.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Montane Conifer Forest
Low elevation
4000
High elevation
9000
Flower Characteristics
Numerous tubular flowers form a rounded cluster. Flower head is up to 5/8 inch in diameter. Long, conspicuous stamens with filaments united below.
Flower color
White to pinkish
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
Yes
First bloom month
June
Last bloom month
August
Flower clusters
Rounded
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Twice compound and alternate, secondary branches have 10 to 18 pairs of oblong and opposite leaflets. Stems are reddish.
Leaf type
Compound
Leaf color
Grayish-green, edged in red
Leaf shape
Pinnatifid
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Flat pod with thick, ribbon-like margins. Pod segments curl when dry, hairy when green.
Fruit type
Pod
Fruit color
Green turning to brown