Week One: Peacock Flower

Common Names: Peacock Flower, Red Bird of Paradise, Barbados Pride, Ayoowiri, Flos Pavonis

Scientific Name: Caesalpinia pulcherrima syn. Poinciana pulcherrima

 

Not-So-Fun Fact (in fact, a terribly tragic one): The peacock flower, among other common toxic houseplants, was used during the days of brutal slavery in the Americas by oppressed and enslaved women. The women hoped that by ingesting the extremely poisonous seeds, they would either miscarry any children that would be born into a similarly miserable life or be killed themselves.

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Order: Fabales

Family: Fabaceae

Genus: Caesalpinia syn. Poinciana

Species: C. pulcherrima syn. P. pulcherrima

Description: The peacock flower is a beautiful shrub featuring long branches rimmed with small, fine leaves. Its also features bright red, orange, or yellow flowers which transform into poisonous flat brown seedpods. In favorable conditions it may reach twenty feet in height. Its bark is covered in sharp spines to discourage contact by non-pollinators.

Environment: The plant is indigenous to the islands of the Caribbean. It thrives in steamy tropical and subtropical climates, such as lowland and highland rainforest. It is also grown as an ornamental shrub, which gave its desperate users easy access while working in the domiciles of wealthy, botanically-minded slave owners.

Reproduction & Development: The peacock flower’s eye-catching blossoms are used to attract its favorite pollinator, the hummingbird, which feeds on the nectar and distributes pollen in summer. During the fall, the plants lose their flowers and grow seedpods which fall to the ground, their toxic seeds germinating into new plants.

Nutrition: Peacock flowers enjoy very wet and warm climates. They absorb nutrients from the soil and are autotrophic, like most plants.