Callistemon
Read about Callistemon in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Callistemon (Greek, kallos, beauty; stemon, a stamen; in most of the species the stamens are of a beautiful scarlet or crimson color). Myrtaceae. Bottle- Brush. Ornamental shrubs, thriving without irrigation in California, where they are hardy and much used; also planted to some extent elsewhere in warm climates and occasionally seen under glass. Leaves alternate, entire, lanceolate or linear, mostly with oil- or resin-dots and fragrant when crushed: fls. in dense cylindric spikes, at first terminal but the axis growing out as a leafy shoot; calyx-teeth 5; petals 5, deciduous; stamens indefinite in number, not united; anthers versatile, the cells parallel and bursting longitudinally; ovary inferior, maturing into a caps. which persists for several years.—About 25 species, natives of Austral., where they inhabit arid districts. Distinguished from Melaleuca only by the stamens, which in that genus are united into bundles. Hall, Univ. Calif. Pub. Bot. 4:22. The showy flower-clusters, resembling bottle- brushes in shape, and so giving the common name to the genus, are highly colored and render these shrubs very ornamental. The quantity of bloom may be much increased by judicious autumn pruning. The various species are recommended for parks, depot-grounds, school - yards, and also for smaller yards if kept well pruned. Hardy only in warm-temperate districts but enduring temperatures less than 20° F. Propagation from seeds is satisfactory: these are gathered during the summer months by allowing the capsules to open in boxes or on sheets of paper kept in a warm place; sow in early spring in finely sifted mixture of sand, leaf-mold, and loam, and cover very lightly; the ordinary cool greenhouse is warm enough. Some nurserymen state that plants from cuttings of ripened wood or of wood which is getting firm at the base will blossom earlier than seedlings; others find no advantage in this method. Although adapted to nearly every variety of soil, these plants make but slow growth in heavy clay.
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Bottlebrush (Callistemon) is a genus with 34 species of shrubs in the family Myrtaceae. The majority of Callistemon species are endemic to Australia; four species are also found in New Caledonia. They are commonly referred to as bottlebrushes because of their cylindrical, brush like flowers resembling a traditional bottle brush. They are found in the more temperate regions of Australia, mostly along the east coast and south-west, and typically favour moist conditions so when planted in gardens thrive on regular watering. However, at least some of the species are drought-resistant.
Callistemons can be propagated either by cuttings (some species more easily than others), or from the rounded seeds. Flowering is normally in Spring and early Summer (October-December), but conditions may cause flowering at other times of the year. The obvious parts of the flower masses are stamens, with the pollen at the tip of the filament; the petals 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 causes the release of the seeds. (A few species release the seeds annually.)
They are relatively slow growing though in time the larger species can grow up to 15 metres. Some are ground-hugging, and grow to only 0.5 metre. The leaves are linear to lanceolate and are not shed in the winter. The spiked ends can cause skin scratches when brushed past.
They have been grown in Europe since a specimen of Callistemon citrinus was introduced to Kew Gardens in London by Joseph Banks in 1789.
In Australia, Callistemon species are sometimes used as food plants by the larvae of hepialid moths of the genus Aenetus including A. ligniveren. These burrow horizontally into the trunk then vertically down.
Species
- Callistemon acuminatus Cheel
- Callistemon brachyandrus Lindl.
- Callistemon chisholmii Cheel
- Callistemon citrinus (Curtis) Skeels - Crimson Bottlebrush
- Callistemon coccineus F.Muell.
- Callistemon comboynensis Cheel
- Callistemon flavovirens (Cheel) Cheel
- Callistemon formosus S.T.Blake
- Callistemon forresterae Molyneux
- Callistemon genofluvialis Molyneux
- Callistemon glaucus (Bonpl.) Sweet
- Callistemon kenmorrisonii Molyneux
- Callistemon linearifolius (Link) DC.
- Callistemon linearis Sweet
- Callistemon montanus C.T.White ex S.T.Blake
- Callistemon nervosus Lindl.
- Callistemon nyallingensis Molyneux
- Callistemon pachyphyllus Cheel
- Callistemon pallidus (Bonpl.) DC.
- Callistemon pauciflorus R.D.Spencer & Lumley
- Callistemon pearsonii R.D.Spencer & Lumley
- Callistemon phoeniceus Lindl.
- Callistemon pinifolius (Wendl.) Sweet
- Callistemon pityoides F.Muell.
- Callistemon polandii F.M.Bailey
- Callistemon pungens Lumley & R.D.Spencer
- Callistemon recurvus R.D.Spencer & Lumley
- Callistemon rigidus R.Br.
- Callistemon rugulosus (Schltdl. ex Link) DC. - Scarlet Bottlebrush
- Callistemon salignus (Sm.) Sweet
- Callistemon shiressii Blakely
- Callistemon sieberi DC.
- Callistemon subulatus Cheel
- Callistemon viminalis (Sol. ex Gaertn.) G.Don - Weeping Bottlebrush
- Callistemon viridiflorus (Sims) Sweet
References
- "Callistemon". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
