''Callistemon'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
shrub
A shrub or 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 by their multiple ...
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 ...
, first described as a genus in 1814. The entire genus is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...
to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
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, bottlebrushes or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They ...
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
Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...
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 (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...
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
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
and several others in the south-west of Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
. At least some species are drought
A drought is a period of 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, ...
-resistant and some are used in ornamental landscaping elsewhere in the world.
Taxonomy
The Latin name ''Callistemon'' comes from the combination of 2 Greek
Greek may refer to:
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 of all kno ...
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 Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author
Entertainers and artists
* Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer
* Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...
.[Brown, Robert (1841) General remarks, geographical and systematical, on the botany of Terra Australis. 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
''Metrosideros'' is a genus of approximately 60 trees, shrubs, and vines in the family Myrtaceae, mostly found in the Pacific region. Most of the tree forms are small, but some are exceptionally large, the New Zealand species in particular. The ...
'' 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 ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
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, bottlebrushes or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They ...
'' 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 studie ...
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
''Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae'' is a series of papers written by the Victorian Government botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in which he published many of his approximately 2000 descriptions of new taxa of Australian plants. Including the p ...
'', Ferdinand von Mueller
Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 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 Victoria, Australia ...
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 b ...
'' that ''Callistemon'' “passes gradually into ''Melaleuca'', with which F. Mueller proposes to unite it.” In 1876, Henri Ernest Baillon
Henri Ernest Baillon (; 30 November 1827 in Calais – 19 July 1895 in Paris) was a French botanist and physician.
Baillon spent his academic career teaching natural history and publishing numerous works on botany. He was appointed to the Lé ...
proposed in ''Histoire des Plantes'' that ''Callistemon'', as well as '' Calothamnus'' 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
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
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 Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organ ...
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
Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
evidence, in 2006 and 2009 Craven moved all but four callistemons to melaleuca. Those four were '' Callistemon forresterae'', '' Callistemon genofluvialis'', '' Callistemon kenmorrisonii'' 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'', '' Calothamnus'', '' Conothamnus'', '' 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
In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds are the ...
. Flowering is normally in spring and early summer
Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...
(October–December), but conditions may cause flowering at other times of the year. The obvious parts of the flower
Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...
masses are stamen
The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...
s, with the pollen
Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...
at the tip of the filament; the petal
Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...
s are inconspicuous (see picture). Flower heads vary in colour with species; most are red, but some are yellow, green, orange, pink 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 fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
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'' 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 1759, 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 Natural history, naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences.
Banks made his name on the European and American voyages of scientific exploration, 1766 natural-history ...
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'');
* '' Callistemon citrinus'' (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.) 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'');
* '' Callistemon kenmorrisonii'' 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. (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, (; 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 Victoria (state), 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
''Melaleuca salicina'', commonly known as willow bottlebrush, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is Endemism, endemic to eastern Australia. Some Australian state Herbarium, herbaria continue to use the name ''Callistemon salignus'', ...
'');
* '' Callistemon serpentinus'' (Craven) Udovicic & R.D.Spencer (also known as '' Melaleuca serpentina'');
* '' 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'' (Sol. ex Gaertn.) G.Don – Weeping bottlebrush (also known as '' Melaleuca viminalis'');
* '' 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 U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
.
File:Goupillon epicier.jpg, Illustration showing bottle brushes, the eponym of the plant
File:Callistemon Bottlebrush.jpg, Callistemon Bottlebrush
See also
* List of Callistemon cultivars
References
External links
*
*
The Callistemon Page
Australian National Botanic Gardens: ''Callistemon'' (Bottlebrushes)
{{Authority control
Myrtaceae genera
Endemic flora of Australia
Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)