What do fairy dusters eat

About the Plant Take a drive or a hike in Saguaro National Park-East in March and you'll find this small shrub blooming amid the brittlebush and bush dalea.

Note: fairy duster has a dense root system and can be used for erosion control Wildlife value: Hummingbirds, small butterflies and moths, and pollinators are attracted to the flowers. ID Characteristics This plant is in the Fabaceae - the legume pea and bean family. Fairy duster has a naturally compact, rounded form - 2 x 2 feet in the wild, larger under cultivation.

It is dense, even at ground level. Birds and small animals may shelter under its branches. The alternate leaves of fairy duster each have 4 or 6 sections, arranged opposite each other, each section having about 16 tiny leaflets.

This type of leaf is called doubly pinnate or bipinnate. The whole leaf is only about 1. Every landscape gets a zap of exotic color with pink fairy duster Calliandra eriophylla , hardy in U. These small shrubs grow well in hot, dry climates. In fall, the shrubs commonly flower again. The flowers have multiple 1- to 2-inch-long stamens that form the fluffy blooms resembling pompoms and feather dusters.

The more understated pink fairy duster shrub has pale-pink flowers while the Baja fairy duster has bright-red flowers. Both species' blooms attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

Fairy dusters' leaves close slightly at night, helping the shrubs conserve moisture. In summer, after the flowering period, 3-inch-long seedpods develop.

Toggle navigation. Fairy Duster Calliandra eriophylla The fairy duster is a low, densely branched shrub 8 to 48 inches high. Habitat Open hillsides, sandy desert washes and slopes below 5, feet. Flowers Each light pink to orange puff contains many flowers and is up to 2 inches in diameter.

Costa's Hummingbird. Gila Woodpecker. Gilded Flicker. Lucy's Warbler. Vermilion Flycatcher. Yellow-Headed Blackbird. Barrel Cactus. Beavertail Cactus. Chain Fruit Cholla. Desert Night Blooming Cereus Cactus. Fishhook Cactus. Organ Pipe Cactus. Prickly Pear Cactus.

Saguaro Cactus. Teddy-bear or Jumping Cholla Cactus. American Snout Butterfly. Buck Moth. Bumble Bee. Common Desert Centipede. Desert Millipede. Giant Desert Centipede. Harvester Ant.

Kissing Bug. Maricopa Harvester Ant. Palo Verde Root Borer. Paper Wasp.