Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Monkeypod


This blossom is on a plant in my backyard and I have been wondering what kind of plant it is ever since I moved here. I did some extensive searching using Google images and finally found what I think it is. It’s called Albizia Saman with an informal name of Monkeypod or sometimes Rain Tree. Everything I have read says that it is a tropical plant which makes me wonder what it is doing in Arizona and probably explains why I have not been able to find one like it at any local nurseries. What I read states that it grows into a huge tree but, mine is only a small shrub. Maybe it has been stunted by all the dry air.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Sharon
I live in Yorkshire, England and cannot recall ever seeing any flower quite like this.
Really nice photo, with your new camera.

Unknown said...

Beautiful flowers!

Judy said...

Nice shot of the pretty red flower.

Kathryn said...

Looks like a Baja fairy duster (Calliandra californica) to me. I have two in my Phoenix yard.

Sharon said...

Thanks Kathryn. I'll look for that. I just couldn't believe a tropical plant would grow here in the desert.

Sharon said...

I just checked and you are so right. That is exactly what it is!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful flower. Good to see it thriving :)

Julie ScottsdaleDailyPhoto.com said...

Yep. It is a Baja Fairy Duster. I have several and hummingbirds love them. I will post photos of them in the future.

Lisa Wilson said...

Whatever it is, it's really pretty!

Jan said...

Definitely fairy duster, just trimmed ours back a few days ago