''Callistemon'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s in the family

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...

, first described as a genus in 1814. The entire genus is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

but widely cultivated in many other regions and naturalised in scattered locations.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> Their status as a separate taxon is in doubt, some authorities accepting that the difference between callistemons and

melaleuca ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They range in size ...

s is not sufficient for them to be grouped in a separate genus.

Description

''Callistemon'' species have commonly been referred to as bottlebrushes because of their cylindrical, brush like

flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

resembling a traditional bottle brush. They are mostly found in the more

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

regions of Australia, especially along the east coast and typically favour moist conditions so when planted in gardens thrive on regular watering. However, two species are found in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

and several others in the south-west of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. At least some species are

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

-resistant and some are used in ornamental landscaping elsewhere in the world. Bottlebrush or Little John -- Dwarf Callistemon

Taxonomy

The Latin name ''Callistemon'' comes from the combination of 2

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

words of 'callis' meaning beauty and 'stemon' meaning stamen, referring to the flowers of the plant. The genus ''Callistemon'' was first formally described in 1814 by Robert Brown.Brown, Robert (1841)

General remarks, geographical and systematical, on the botany of Terra Australis ''General remarks, geographical and systematical, on the botany of Terra Australis'' is an 1814 paper written by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773), Robert Brown on the botany of Australia. It is significant as an early treatment of the biogeograp ...

. Appendix III (pp. 537-612) in Flinders, ''A Voyage to Terra Australis'', Volume II; London: G. and W. Nicol, 1841. Also pp. 1–89 in Bennett, John Joseph (ed.) ''The Botanical works of Robert Brown''; London: Robert Hardwick for The Ray Society, 1866. ''Callistemon'' is defined on p. 547 of Flinder

and p. 19 of Bennet

In his description he noted that the genus includes “those species of ''Metrosideros'' that have inflorescence similar to that of ''Melaleuca'', and distinct elongated filaments.”

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

had described the genus ''

Melaleuca ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They range in size ...

'' in 1767 and in 1867,

George Bentham George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studi ...

brought all the ''Metrosideros'' species into ''Melaleuca''. Bentham described melaleucas as having stamens united in bundles opposite the (five) petals. In his 1864 description of ''Callistemon salignus'' in '' Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae'',

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

noted that the difference between the genera was “entirely artificial” (“omnino artificiale"). George Bentham also noted in ''

Flora Australiensis ''Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory'', more commonly referred to as ''Flora Australiensis'', and also known by its standard abbreviation ''Fl. Austral.'', is a seven-volume flora of Australia published be ...

'' that ''Callistemon'' “passes gradually into ''Melaleuca'', with which F. Mueller proposes to unite it.” In 1876,

Henri Ernest Baillon Henri Ernest Baillon was a French botanist and physician. He was born in Calais on 30 November 1827 and died in Paris on 19 July 1895. Baillon spent his professional life as a professor of natural history, and he published numerous works on bo ...

proposed in ''Histoire des Plantes'' that ''Callistemon'', as well as ''

Calothamnus ''Calothamnus'' is a genus of shrubs in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. The common names one-sided bottlebrush or claw flower are given to some species due to their having the flowers clustered on ...

'' and '' Lamarchea'' be merged into ''Melaleuca''. Nevertheless, most authors had preserved the distinction between the two genera ''Callistemon'' and ''Melaleuca'' until 1998. In that year, in recognition of the fact that the callistemons and melaleucas on

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

were clearly related,

Lyndley Craven Lyndley Alan Craven (3 September 1945 – 11 July 2014) was a botanist who became the Principal Research Scientist of the Australian National Herbarium. Lyndley ("Lyn") Craven worked for the CSIRO plant taxonomy unit of the New Guinea Survey Gr ...

and J.W. Dawson transferred the callistemons on that island to ''Melaleuca'', even though some (e.g. '' Melaleuca pancheri'') do not have stamens fused in 5 groups. On the basis of DNA evidence, in 2006 and 2009 Craven moved all but four callistemons to melaleuca. Those four were '' Callistemon forresterae'', '' Callistemon genofluvialis'', ''

Callistemon kenmorrisonii ''Callistemon kenmorrisonii'', the Betka bottlebrush, is a shrub in the family Myrtaceae. It is endemic to the state of Victoria in Australia. Description Betka bottlebrush is an upright or angular spreading shrub which grows to between ...

'' and '' Callistemon nyallingensis'' which were regarded as being hybrids. The new description of ''Melaleuca'' has been accepted by some herbaria but not all. For example, the Queensland Herbarium accepts '' Melaleuca flammea'' (synonym ''Callistemon acuminatus'') but the New South Wales Herbarium accepts ''Callistemon acuminatus''. In 2012, Frank Udovicic and Roger Spencer transferred the newly described species of melaleuca with separate stamens (e.g. '' Melaleuca megalongensis'' and '' Melaleuca wimmerensis'') to ''Callistemon'' (hence ''Callistemon megalongensis'' and ''Callistemon wimmerensis''). Their argument is that using the DNA evidence is premature. They further argue that if all the genera '' Beaufortia'', ''Callistemon'', ''

'', ''

Conothamnus ''Conothamnus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. They are woody shrubs similar to melaleucas but differ in that their leaves are usually arranged in opposite pairs ...

'', '' Eremaea'', ''Melaleuca'', '' Phymatocarpus'' were combined (as Craven has suggested), then there would be no characteristics that would define the group.

Use in horticulture

Many commercial nurseries continue to use the name ‘’Callistemon’’. These species can be propagated either by cuttings (some species more easily than others), or from the

seeds A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm pl ...

. Flowering is normally in

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

and early

summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

(October–December), but conditions may cause flowering at other times of the year. The obvious parts of the

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

masses are

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s, with the

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

at the tip of the filament; the

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are inconspicuous (see picture). Flower heads vary in colour with species; most are red, but some are yellow, green, orange or white. Each flower head produces a profusion of triple-celled seed capsules around a stem (see picture) which remain on the plant with the seeds enclosed until stimulated to open when the plant dies or

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

causes the release of the seeds. A few species release the seeds annually. Bottlebrush plants can be grown in pots. They have been grown in Europe since a specimen of ''

Callistemon citrinus ''Melaleuca citrina'', the common red bottlebrush, crimson bottlebrush, or lemon bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to eastern Australia. Some Australian state herbaria continue to use the name ''Callistemon ...

'' was introduced to

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

in London by

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...

in 1789.

Selected species

There are about 50 species of callistemon. They include: *'' Callistemon acuminatus'' Cheel – Tapering-leaved bottlebrush (also known as '' Melaleuca flammea''); * '' Callistemon brachyandrus'' Lindl. – Prickly bottlebrush (also known as '' Melaleuca brachyandra''); * '' Callistemon chisholmii'' Cheel (also known as '' Melaleuca chisholmii''); * ''

'' (Curtis) Skeels – Lemon scented bottle brush (also known as '' Melaleuca citrina''); * '' Callistemon coccineus'' F.Muell. (also known as '' Melaleuca rugulosa''); * '' Callistemon comboynensis'' Cheel – Cliff bottlebrush (also known as '' Melaleuca comboynensis''); * '' Callistemon flavovirens'' (Cheel) Cheel – Green bottlebrush (also known as '' Melaleuca flavovirens''); * '' Callistemon formosus'' S.T.Blake (also known as '' Melaleuca formosa''); * '' Callistemon forresterae'' Molyneux * '' Callistemon genofluvialis'' Molyneux * '' Callistemon glaucus'' (

DC. Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle ...

)

Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones ...

(also known as '' Melaleuca glauca''); * '' Callistemon hemistictus'' ( S.T.Blake ex Craven) Udovicic and R.D.Spencer (also known as '' Melaleuca hemisticta''); * ''

'' Molyneux – Betka bottlebrush * '' Callistemon lanceolatus'' (Sm.) Sweet (also known as '' Melaleuca citrina''); * '' Callistemon lazaridis'' (Craven) Udovicic & R.D.Spencer (also known as '' Melaleuca lazaridis''); * '' Callistemon linearifolius'' (Link) DC. (also known as '' Melaleuca linearifolia''); * '' Callistemon linearis'' Sweet (also known as '' Melaleuca linearis''); * '' Callistemon macropunctatus'' (Dum.Cours.) Court (also known as '' Melaleuca rugulosa''); * '' Callistemon megalongensis'' (Craven & S.M.Douglas) Udovicic & R.D.Spencer (also known as '' Melaleuca megalongensis''); * '' Callistemon montanus'' C.T.White ex S.T.Blake – Mountain bottlebrush (also known as '' Melaleuca montana''); * '' Callistemon montis-zamiae'' (Craven) Udovicic & R.D.Spencer (also known as '' Melaleuca montis-zamia''); * '' Callistemon nervosus''

Lindl. John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley ...

(also known as '' Melaleuca nervosa''); * '' Callistemon nyallingensis'' Molyneux * '' Callistemon pachyphyllus'' Cheel – Wallum bottlebrush (also known as '' Melaleuca pachyphylla''); * '' Callistemon pallidus'' (Bonpl.) DC. – Lemon bottlebrush (also known as '' Melaleuca pallida''); * '' Callistemon paludosus''

F.Muell. Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vic ...

(also known as '' Melaleuca paludicola''); * '' Callistemon pauciflorus'' R.D.Spencer & Lumley (also known as '' Melaleuca faucicola''); * '' Callistemon pearsonii'' R.D.Spencer & Lumley (also known as '' Melaleuca pearsonii''); * '' Callistemon phoeniceus'' Lindl. – Lesser bottlebrush (also known as '' Melaleuca phoenicea''); * '' Callistemon phratra'' ( Craven) Udovicic & R.D.Spencer (also known as '' Melaleuca phratra''); * '' Callistemon pinifolius'' (Wendl.) Sweet – Pine-leaved bottlebrush (also known as '' Melaleuca linearis''); * '' Callistemon pityoides'' F.Muell. – Alpine bottlebrush (also known as '' Melaleuca pityoides''); * '' Callistemon polandii'' F.M.Bailey (also known as '' Melaleuca polandii''); * '' Callistemon pungens'' Lumley & R.D.Spencer (also known as '' Melaleuca williamsii''); * '' Callistemon pyramidalis'' (Craven) Udovicic & R.D.Spencer (also known as '' Melaleuca pyramidalis''); * '' Callistemon quercinus'' (Craven) Udovicic & R.D.Spencer (also known as '' Melaleuca quercina''); * '' Callistemon recurvus'' R.D.Spencer & Lumley (also known as '' Melaleuca recurva''); * '' Callistemon rigidus'' R.Br. – Stiff bottlebrush (also known as '' Melaleuca linearis''); * '' Callistemon rugulosus'' (Schltdl. ex Link) DC. – Scarlet bottlebrush (also known as '' Melaleuca rugulosa''); * '' Callistemon sabrina'' (Craven) Udovicic & R.D.Spencer (also known as '' Melaleuca sabrina''); * '' Callistemon salignus'' (Sm.) Sweet – Willow bottlebrush, white bottlebrush (also known as '' Melaleuca salicina''); * '' Callistemon serpentinus'' (Craven) Udovicic & R.D.Spencer (also known as ''

Melaleuca serpentina ''Melaleuca serpentina'' is a plant in the myrtle Family (biology), family, Myrtaceae and is Endemism, endemic to the Barraba, New South Wales, Barraba district in Australia. (Some Australian state herbaria continue to use the name ''Callistemon ...

''); * '' Callistemon shiressii'' Blakely (also known as '' Melaleuca shiressii''); * '' Callistemon sieberi'' DC. (also known as '' Melaleuca paludicola''); * '' Callistemon speciosus'' (Sims) Sweet (also known as '' Melaleuca glauca''); * '' Callistemon subulatus'' Cheel (also known as '' Melaleuca subulata''); * '' Callistemon teretifolius'' F.Muell. – Needle bottlebrush, Flinders Ranges bottlebrush (also known as '' Melaleuca orophila''); * ''

Callistemon viminalis ''Melaleuca viminalis'', commonly known as weeping bottlebrush or creek bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. (Some Australian state herbaria continue to use t ...

'' (Sol. ex Gaertn.) G.Don – Weeping bottlebrush (also known as ''

Melaleuca viminalis ''Melaleuca viminalis'', commonly known as weeping bottlebrush or creek bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. (Some Australian state herbaria continue to use ...

''); * '' Callistemon viridiflorus'' (Sims) Sweet (also known as '' Melaleuca virens''); * '' Callistemon wimmerensis'' Marriott & G.W.Carr (also known as '' Melaleuca wimmerensis'')

Gallery

File:Callistemon -- Dwarf Bottlebrush or Little John.jpg, ''Callistemon'' "Little John" or dwarf bottlebrush - a ''Callistemon'' cultivar File:Bottlebrush (Callistemon) bud.jpg , Foreground: Bottlebrush buds. Background: Partial blooming bottlebrush flower. File:Blooming_bottlebrush_(Callistemon)_found_in_Kelantan,_Malaysia.JPG , Blooming bottlebrush found in Kelantan, Malaysia. File:Bottlebrush (Callistemon).jpg , Bottlebrush flower partial blooming found in Kelantan, Malaysia. File:Red bottlebrush tree in Florida crop.jpg, Tree in bloom in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. File:Goupillon epicier.jpg, Illustration showing bottle brushes, the namesake of the plant File:Callistemon Bottlebrush.jpg, Callistemon Bottlebrush

References

External links

* *
The Callistemon PageAustralian National Botanic Gardens: ''Callistemon'' (Bottlebrushes)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q496460 Myrtaceae genera Endemic flora of Australia Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)