Calliandra humilis var. reticulata

Kearney and Peebles 1969, McDougall 1973

Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Subshrub General: Herbaceous stems to 20 cm, leaves and stems glabrous to pilose. Leaves: Compound pinnate leaves, the pinnae in 1-5 pairs, each with less than 13 leaflets, 7-14 mm long, oval to oblong with conspicuous veins. Flowers: Pink or white, in dense, peduncled axillary, or racemose heads, calyx 4-lobed, corolla trumpet-shaped, stamens numerous and well exserted, anthers small. Fruits: Pods with thick, rib-like margins, the valves recurved after dehiscence. Ecology: Found in dry pine forests from 4,500-8,000 ft (1372-2438 m); flowers May-September. Notes: The prominent veins are a good key for this subspecies. It is usually pretty inconspicuous looking, you will often find it growing out of gravelly soil in dry wash beds just looking like a neglected Fabaceae, but the oval leaves are easily identifiable once you know what you are looking at. Look for it also under the old name Calliandra reticulata. Ethnobotany: Unknown Synonyms: Calliandra reticulata, Anneslia reticulata, Anneslia humilis, Acacia humilis Editor: LCrumbacher, 2011 Etymology: Calliandra comes from the Greek kallos, "beautiful," and andra, "stamen", and reticulata means net-veined.