Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
← Explore Plants
Plant · P-1157
Calliandra
Calliandra houstoniana
Calliandra is a fast-growing, thornless, nitrogen-fixing shrub from Central America, grown throughout the humid tropics as a fodder hedge that is cut back every few months and resprouts vigorously. Almost all of its feeding value belongs to one particular variety grown for fodder and firewood, not the showier ornamental form sold under the same species name, so a plant bought for its flowers will not deliver these yields. The leaves carry high protein but also heavy tannins, which make them valuable forage for cattle and goats yet unsuitable for pigs and poultry. The wood burns hot and fast into good firewood and charcoal, and the flowers draw honeybees for a strong nectar flow.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun · Partial Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 10–12
- Soil
- Sand · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Moist · Well-Drained · Dry
Vertical layer
Shrub- Soil pH
- 5–6
- Plant type
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 16.4–19.7 ft
- Mature spread
- 16.4–19.7 ft
- Plant spacing
- Not yet recorded
- Root type
- Fibrous-deep
- Spread pattern
- Seed
Keep exploring
Similar plants
Discover more plants with shared forest layers or growing conditions.
African Blue Basil
Ocimum kilimandscharicum
African Blue Basil is a sterile hybrid between camphor basil and the purple-leaved Dark Opal basil, propagated from cuttings rather than seed…
Shrub · USDA 10–11
American Beautyberry
Callicarpa americana
American Beautyberry is an arching deciduous shrub of rich woods, moist thickets and swamp edges across the southeastern and south-central…
Shrub · USDA 6–10
Annatto
Bixa orellana
Annatto is a small tropical evergreen tree or shrub grown for the red-orange dye pigment bixin coating its seeds - the source of the food…
Shrub · USDA 10–12
Barbados Cherry
Malpighia emarginata
Barbados Cherry is an evergreen shrub that produces a small, bright red cherry-like fruit eaten fresh or cooked into juice, sauce, jelly, jam…
Shrub · USDA 9–11
Cactus Pad
Opuntia ficus-indica
Cactus pad, or nopal, is a paddle cactus grown for two crops off one plant: pads sliced and cooked like green beans, and a sweet, gelatinous…
Shrub · USDA 8–11
Cape Aloe
Aloe ferox
Cape Aloe is a single-stemmed succulent shrub of southern Africa, growing slowly to several metres on a trunk ringed with the dried remains…
Shrub · USDA 9–12
The deeper layer
Plan what comes next.
- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
- Locked ecological function
- Byproduct
- Locked ecological function
Behind the record
- Locked research reference
- Locked research reference
- Locked research reference