Calliandra haematocephala explained

Calliandra haematocephala, the red powder puff, is a species of flowering plants of the genus Calliandra in the family Fabaceae.

Description

Rambling shrub or small tree with branched pinnate, silky leaves and powder-puff-like balls of conspicuous dark crimson stamens. Calliandra haematocephala is a fast growing shrub that can grow tall but also spreads wide. If desired it can be kept smaller by trimming. Interesting enough the leaves close at night. The red powder puff flowers are attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds but only appear from November -April. The buds before the flowers open look like raspberries. This large shrub can be grown indoor if trimmed and grown in a pot but it will be best if you can grow it outside in a warm climate.

Uses

Extracts from parts of Calliandra haematocephala have been used in the green synthesis of zinc oxide nanostructures, magnetite nanoparticles, and silver nanoparticles.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Notes and References

1. Raja . Selvaraj . Ramesh . Vinayagam . Thivaharan . Varadavenkatesan . 2017 . Green biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using Calliandra haematocephala leaf extract, their antibacterial activity and hydrogen peroxide sensing capability . Arabian Journal of Chemistry . en . 10 . 2 . 253–261 . 10.1016/j.arabjc.2015.06.023. free .
2. Sirdeshpande . Karthikey Devadatta . Sridhar . Anushka . Cholkar . Kedar Mohan . Selvaraj . Raja . 2018 . Structural characterization of mesoporous magnetite nanoparticles synthesized using the leaf extract of Calliandra haematocephala and their photocatalytic degradation of malachite green dye . Applied Nanoscience . en . 8 . 4 . 675–683 . 10.1007/s13204-018-0698-8 . 139273975 . 2190-5509.
3. Vinayagam . Ramesh . Selvaraj . Raja . Arivalagan . Pugazhendhi . Varadavenkatesan . Thivaharan . 2020 . Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic dye degradation capability of Calliandra haematocephala-mediated zinc oxide nanoflowers . Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology . en . 203 . 111760 . 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2019.111760. 31884350 . 209510710 .