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Calliandra houstoniana
Tree calliandra (Calliandra houstoniana) is a shrub or small tree from seasonally dry tropical Mexico to Nicaragua, grown for its showy red powder-puff flowers. The key to growing it is full sun, warmth and well-drained soil.
Calliandra houstoniana is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the family Fabaceae.
The Aztecs called this plant the Tlacoxiloxochitl, and used it to aid in coughs. From An Aztec Herbal: "If one is troubled by a cough, let him forthwith sip the boiled liquor of the tlaco-xilo-xochitl root skinned and ground up in water; using a part of this, with honey, to anoint the throat. If he spits blood also, let him take the same liquor as a drink before meals. It would help if he gnawed and chewed some of the said root, with honey. The root of the herb called tzopelica-cococ, ground in tepid water is also of value for one with a cough; let him either drink the liquor or gnaw the root."
Calliandra aeschynomenoides · Calliandra angustifolia · Calliandra bella · Twoflower stickpea · Pink Powderpuff · Tabardillo · Stickpea · Calliandra chilensis · Calliandra comosa · Rio Grande stickpea · Calliandra cruegeri · Calliandra decrescens
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Calliandra houstoniana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
