Callistemon

Commonly known as Bottlebrushes, Callistemon is a genus of shrubs/trees in the family Myrtaceae, that is endemic to Australia, with four species in New Caledonia. They are closely related to the paperbark melaleucas, which also have ‘bottlebrush’ shaped flower spikes. Today they are widely cultivated and have become naturalised in scattered locations.

There is still doubt over the separate taxon, with some authorities saying that there is insufficient differences between callistemons and melaleucas to group them in a separate genus.

There are 40 species that are currently called Callistemon, with numerous hybrids/cultivars.

Most Bottlebrushes are found occurring in the east and south-east of Australia. Whilst they are mostly found in the more temperate regions of Australia, today Bottlebrushes can be found growing from Australia’s tropical north to the temperate south, south-west of Western Australia and Tasmania. They are even found growing in Central Australia and scattered locations in the Top End, with some species being more drought-tolerant.

The inflorescence (flower spike) are a favourite with birds and insects including the native and European Honey Bees.

Check out our page on Bottlebrushes in the Sydney Northern Beaches and the Weeping Bottlebrush in Alice Springs.

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• Scientific classification
• Kingdom: Plantae
• Phylum: Charophyta
• Class: Equisetopsida
• Subclass: Magnoliidae
• Superorder: Rosanae
• Order: Myrtales
• Family: Myrtaceae
• Genus: Callistemon

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FloraFlora in Australia Flora Index Acacia Anigozanthos (Kangaroo Paws) Annual Yellowtop Apium prostratum subsp. prostratum var filiforme Apple Bush (Pterocaulon sphacelatum) Australian Bluebell Australian Gossypium Banksia Batswing Coral Tree Billy Buttons Birdsville Indigo Blue Pincushion Bush Banana Callistemon Callitris drummondii (Drummond’s Cypress Pine) Calothamnus quadrifidus Cape Honeysuckle Cassia fistula (Golden Shower) Cattle Bush Common Heath Crotalaria Darwinia wittwerorum (Wittwer’s Mountain Bell) Daviesia oppositifolia (Rattle-pea) Desert Oaks Drumsticks Eremophila Eucalyptus Ficus Flannel Cudweed (Actinobole uliginosum) Georges Indigo Goatshead Burr (Sclerolaena bicornis) Golden Everlasting Goodenia Gossypium Grass and Grasses Grass Trees Grevillea Grey Germander Hakea Kapok Bush (Aerva javanica) Lambertia sp Leptospermum MacDonnell Ranges Cycad Maireana scleroptera Mexican Poppy Minnie Daisy Mistletoe Family Nardoo Native Apricot Nicotiana megalosiphon subspecies sessilifolia Nuytsia floribunda Orange Spade Flower Orchidaceae Parakeelyas (Calandrinia) Pebble Bush (Stylobasium spathulatum) Perennial Yellow Top Pink Everlasting Pink Rock Wort Poached Egg Daisy Portulaca Proteaceae Ptilotus Quandong Resurrection Fern Rosy Dock Ruby Saltbush Santalum Solanum Spike Centaury Spinifex Storkbill (Erodium cygnorum) Striped Mint Bush Sturt’s Desert Pea Sturt’s Desert Rose Tall Saltbush Tangled Leschenaultia Tar Vine Tribulus eichlerianus Upside-down Plant Urodon dasyphylla Variable Daisy Waratah (Telopea) Wertabona Daisy White Cedar (Melia azedarach) White Indigo White Paper Daisy Wild Passionfruit Wild Stock Woolly-Headed Burr Daisy Woolly Bush Yellow-keeled Swainsona

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