Red Bird of Paradise
Caesalpinia pulcherrima
Photographed in Phoenix, Arizona, Sept. 2003.
While not a native to Arizona, this widely planted ornamental provides an abundance of color straight through the hottest summer months yet with a minimum expenditure of precious water. Some native bees and butterflies use the flowers. Sharp-shooters (type of leafhopper insect) sometime feed on the sap; otherwise I have not found a lot of wildlife associated with this plant in the Sonoran Desert. This plant is native to the Caribbean and South America.