Calliandra (Calliandra haematocephala) is popular and attractive garden plant grown for it's beautiful powder puff flowers BUT did you know that Calliandra is so much more than it's good looks? Calliandra is:
a fast growing legume
a fabulous chop and drop mulch
an excellent food forest shade plant
a useful hedge or screen plant - coppices well
a pioneer plant in a permaculture food forest - helping to get the systems started
excellent fuelwood for small fires
used for intercrop hedgerows in agroforesty systems
valuable supplement forage for ruminant livestock
an accessible source of leaf meal protein for laying hens - pods are also high protein
useful in land rehabilitation
an excellent erosion control plant
a green manure
a pollen source for honey production
attractive to butterflies and birds too (flowers)
a host for lac insect (Laccifer lacca) for shellac production
