''Melaleuca brachyandra'', commonly known as prickly bottlebrush or scarlet bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle 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 ...

and is endemic to New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia in

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 ...

. (Some Australian state herbaria continue to use the name ''Callistemon brachyandrus''.) It is a shrub or small tree with narrow leaves and showy red and green flowers making it an ideal ornamental plant in temperate areas.

Description

''Melaleuca brachyandra'' is a shrub growing to tall with hard bark and a rigid habit. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are long, wide, linear in shape, kidney-shaped in cross section and with the end tapering to a sharp point. The flowers are arranged in spikes on the ends of branches that continue to grow after flowering. The spikes are up to in diameter with 7 to 36 individual flowers. The petals are long and fall off as the flower ages. There are 50 to 84

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 in each flower, with their "stalks" (the filaments) rich crimson and "tips" (the anthers) green. Flowering occurs from September to January and is followed by fruits that are woody capsules, long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Melaleuca brachyandra'' was first formally described in 2006 by Lyndley Craven in ''

Novon The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder and philanthropist Henry Shaw. Its herbarium, with more than 6.6 million s ...

''. It had previously been known as ''Callistemon brachyandrus'' since

John Lindley 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 w ...

described it in 1849 in ''

Journal of the Horticultural Society of London ''The Garden'' is the monthly magazine of the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), circulated to all the society's members as a benefit of membership; it is also sold to the public. History ''The Garden'' magazine has gone under this title ...

''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''brachyandra'') is derived from the ancient Greek words ''brachys'' (βραχύς), meaning "short" and ''anēr'', genitive ''andros'' (ἀνήρ, genitive ἀνδρός), meaning "male",Backer, C.A. (1936). ''Verklarend woordenboek der wetenschappelijke namen van de in Nederland en Nederlandsch-Indië in het wild groeiende en in tuinen en parken gekweekte varens en hoogere planten'' (Edition Nicoline van der Sijs). referring to the length of the stamens being shorter than the styles. ''Callistemon brachyandrus'' is regarded as a synonym of ''Melaleuca brachyandra'' by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.Cobar district. It also occurs in the lower Murray River districts of north-western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia.

Use in horticulture

Although it has prickly leaves, the attractive flower spikes of ''M. brachyandra'' make it a suitable ornamental for temperate gardens. It is usually more resistant to pests than other species of the former ''Callistemon''. It prefers well-drained soil in a sunny situation.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5022777 brachyandra Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1849