Caesalpinia gilliesii

Few hardy shrubs put on a show like Caesalpinia gilliesii, the desert bird of paradise, whose summer flowers open clear yellow and send out a spray of long scarlet stamens like fireworks caught mid-burst. A legume from the dry country of Argentina and Uruguay, long naturalized across the American Southwest, the plant carries ferny, blue-green, mimosa-like foliage that sets off the flamboyant bloom. Botanists now place the species in the genus Erythrostemon, meaning red stamen, though gardeners still know the plant as Caesalpinia.

The species name honors John Gillies, the Scottish physician who botanized in Argentina in the early nineteenth century. Borne in tall upright clusters through the heat of summer, the flowers draw hummingbirds and pollinators by day, and the long stamens and evening scent suggest a partnership with night-flying moths as well. Flat, curved seed pods follow, ripening until they twist open and fling the seeds free.

This is a plant for hot, dry, difficult places, thriving in full sun and sharp drainage where heat and drought defeat softer shrubs. Fast-growing and root-hardy, Caesalpinia gilliesii stays evergreen in warm winters and dies back to the ground in colder ones, resprouting in spring, which lets the plant reach into the middle South and the high desert alike. A word of caution belongs on the label, since the green seed pods and seeds are toxic if eaten, worth keeping in mind where children and pets roam.

Use Caesalpinia gilliesii as a xeric specimen, an informal screen, or a background shrub in a hot, sunny border, water-wise landscape, or desert-style planting. The lacy foliage and spectacular summer flowers bring an exotic, almost tropical air to ground that stays bone dry, and the hummingbird traffic is a bonus. Give the plant full sun, excellent drainage, and room to show off, and expect little trouble in return.

Photos courtesy of Miguel Gonzalez