Powder-Puff Plant
Calliandra haematocephala
Also known as Red Powder Puff, Blood Red Tassel Flower
- Habit
- Shrub
- Found in India
- Rajasthan, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Powder-Puff Plant
Identify Powder-Puff Plant by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a shrub habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Blood-red round powder-puff flower heads.
- Confirm leaf type: Pinnately compound.
- Confirm leaf shape: Feathery bipinnate leaflets.
- Confirm flower colour: Red.
- Confirm flower arrangement: Head.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Calliandra haematocephala
- Genus
- Calliandra
- Family
- Mimosaceae
- Habit
- Shrub
- Habitat
- Grown as an ornamental plant
- Habitat type
- Cultivated
- Native to
- South America
- Distribution
- Africa, Asia, South and North America
- Found in India
- Rajasthan, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Gujarat, Delhi, Assam, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Chandigarh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Odisha, Sikkim
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf type
- Pinnately compoundrecordedLeaflets are arranged in rows along a central stalk, like a feather.“Rambling shrub or small tree with branched pinnate, silky leaves and powder-puff-like balls of conspicuous dark crimson stamens.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf shape
- Feathery bipinnate leafletsrecorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Powder-Puff Plant itself; the rest are typical of the Mimosaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Redrecorded“The specific epithet haematocephala means “blood-red head”, alluding to the colour and form of the flower heads.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Flower arrangement
- HeadrecordedA dense, tight cluster of many small stalkless flowers, packed into a rounded or flat head.“The specific epithet haematocephala means “blood-red head”, alluding to the colour and form of the flower heads.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Head
- Fruit
- Legume
Characters marked “recorded” are for Powder-Puff Plant itself; the rest are typical of the Mimosaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Bengali
- পাউডার পাফ
- Marathi
- पाउडर पफ फुल
About Powder-Puff Plant
Powder-puff Plant (Calliandra haematocephala) is a shrub in the Mimosaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and 19 other states. It is grown as an ornamental plant. It flowers and fruits through much of the year.
Uses
Locally it is planted as an ornamental.
Mimosaceae
Mimosa/Acacia family
Powder-Puff Plant belongs to the Mimosaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Mimosaceae familySnap it. Know it.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides