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Callistemon citrinus (Curtis) Skeels

Crimson bottlebrush, bottlebrush

Tall shrubs or small trees, red bottlebrushes have bright red flowers that really do look exactly like bottlebrushes. Most of the 34 species of Callistemon originate from Australia; a few are from New Caledonia. In the extreme southern and western United States they are popular ornamental plants, but they have not become naturalized in North America.

Plants: 6–15′ (1.8–4.6 m) high.

Leaves: Lanceolate to narrow-elliptic leaves are up to 3″ (7.6 cm) long, coppery in color at first before maturing to medium green. Leaves have a lemony scent when bruised.

Flowers: The red filaments in bottlebrush “flowers” are really the flowers, they are the stamens. The flowers themselves are in the core, small and white. The key identifying characteristic of these plants is the cylindrical shape of the brushes.

Fruits: The seeds are unusual, and remain on the trees for long periods.

Habitats: Near coasts, in swamps and along creeks and rivers.

Callistemon citrinus (crimson bottlebrush, bottlebrush)

Bottlebrush seeds. By Fir0002/Flagstaffotos.

Online References:

Floridata.com

Wikipedia

Desert-tropicals.com

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Plants for a Future

The University of Connecticut Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Plant Growth Facilities

Callistemon lanceolatus (Sw.) DC.
Melaleuca citrina (Curtis) Dum. Cours.

 

Callistemon citrinus (crimson bottlebrush, bottlebrush)

4/12/2015 · Florida City, Florida ID is uncertain

Callistemon citrinus (crimson bottlebrush, bottlebrush)

4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Mary­land · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm)

Callistemon citrinus (crimson bottlebrush, bottlebrush)

4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Mary­land · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm)

Callistemon citrinus (crimson bottlebrush, bottlebrush)

4/12/2015 · Florida City, Florida ID is uncertain

Callistemon citrinus (crimson bottlebrush, bottlebrush)

5/25/2009 · Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, Ari­zona ID is uncertain

Callistemon citrinus (crimson bottlebrush, bottlebrush)

5/25/2009 · Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, Ari­zona · ≈ 6 × 5″ (15 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

Callistemon citrinus (crimson bottlebrush, bottlebrush)

4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Mary­land · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm)

Callistemon citrinus (crimson bottlebrush, bottlebrush)

4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Mary­land · ≈ 6 × 9″ (14 × 22 cm)

Callistemon citrinus (crimson bottlebrush, bottlebrush)

4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Mary­land · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm)

KingdomPlantaePlants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
SubkingdomTracheobiontaVascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
DivisionMagnoliophytaFlowering plants, also known as angiosperms
ClassMagnoliopsidaDicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
SubclassRosidaeRoses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
OrderMyrtalesIncludes myrtles, leadwoods, loosestrifes, pomegranates, evening primroses, many others
FamilyMyrtaceaeMyrtle family, include myrtle, clove, guava, feijoa, allspice, and eucalyptus
GenusCallistemonFrom the Greek kalli or kallos, “beautiful,” and stemon, a stamen, in reference to the extraordinary beauty of the flowers of this genus
SpeciescitrinusLemon yellow

About plant names...

Range: Zones 8b-11:

About this map...

Callistemon citrinus description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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