Plant Name
Scientific Name: Caesalpinia gilliesii
Synonym: Poinciana gilliesii
Common Names: Bird-of-paradise Shrub, Yellow Bird of Paradise
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial, Semi-evergreen to frost deciduous
Growth Habit: Tree, Shrub
Arizona Native Status: Introduced. This naturalized ornamental plant is native to South America.
Habitat: Desert (upper elevation), Upland. This commonly cultivated plant can also be found growing wild in grassland pastures, along roadsides, and in other disturbed areas.
Flower Color: Yellow
Flowering Season: Spring, Summer
Height: Up to 10 feet (3 m) tall
Description: The flowers are clustered at the stem tips. The individual flowers have 5 yellow petals and conspicuous, red, 3 1/2 inch (9 cm) long stamens. The flowers are followed by flat, oblong, green to reddish bean pods that are dotted with red, glandular hairs. The bean pods dry to a tan color and split open and curl when mature. The fern-like leaves are alternate and bipinnately compound with numerous, small, oblong, bluish green secondary leaflets.
Special Characteristics
Butterfly Plant – The flowers attract butterflies.
Hummingbird Flower – The flowers attract hummingbirds.
Poisonous – The seeds and seed pods are toxic.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae – Pea family
Genus: Caesalpinia L. – nicker
Species: Caesalpinia gilliesii (Wall. ex Hook.) Wall. ex D. Dietr. – bird-of-paradise shrub
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