Dwarf Powder Puff / Calliandra haematocephala

This little flower was maybe an inch across and so dainty. I always love to see this species, though I still miss the larger Red Powder Puff that used to grow in the old Conservatory, at the Calgary Zoo. Taken on May 2nd..

This is the information added by Alexis of the UBC (University of British Columbia) Botany Photo of the Day website, an excellent site for those who are interested in plants around the world:

"Though it is widely cultivated, Calliandra haematocephala is native only to Bolivia. Calliandra haematocephala is a shrub or tree species that can grow to 6m in height and plants produce pink flowers with long red stamens measuring about 3 cm arranged in dense heads. This results in the flower's intriguing appearance and the plant's appropriate common name, red powder puff (see: Phillips and Rix's Indoor and Greenhouse Plants from 1997). Photoperiod plays an important role for the species, as Calliandra haematocephala flowers mostly bloom in the winter months when there are fewer hours of daylight (noted in Barwick's Tropical and Subtropical Trees (2004)).

Pictured in today's photo is a dwarf cultivar, either of the species or possibly a hybrid between Calliandra haematocephala and Calliandra surinamensis, a similar-looking species known as pink powder puff (http://toptropicals.com/cgi-bin/garden_catalog/cat.cgi?uid=Calliandra_nana). Dwarf incarnations of Calliandra haematocephala are also popular for bonsai."

www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/potd/2011/05/calliandra-haemat...