Callistemon citrinus (Crimson Bottlebrush)

Callistemon citrinus flowers and foliage

Photograph by Dinesh Valke. Some rights reserved. (view image details)

Callistemon citrinus flower

Photograph by Dinesh Valke. Some rights reserved. (view image details)

Growth Characteristics information is sourced from: State Flora Catalog, Government of South Australia Licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license.

CRIMSON BOTTLEBRUSH FACTS

distribution map showing range of Callistemon citrinus in Australia

Map is from The Atlas of Living Australia web site, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License

Common Name
Crimson Bottlebrush

Other Names
Common Red Bottlebrush

Description
Crimson Bottlebrush is a shrub growing to 5 m tall. The leaves are hard and flat, narrow with the widest portion near the tip, and grow to about 2.5cm to 10 cm long and 4 mm to 25 mm wide. The leaf tip is pointed. The flowers are red with purple anthers, and produced in bottlebrush spikes, about 6 cm to 10 cm long and 4.5 cm to 7 cm in diameter. Peak flowering is in November and December, with intermittent flowering throughout most of the year. The fruit are woody capsules about 5 mm to 7 mm long. The plant is also known as Melaleuca citrina.

Habitat
swamps, along creeks and rivers

Distribution
Crimson Bottlebrush is found in eastern New South Wales from coastal areas to western slopes of Great Dividing Range. It also occurs in the eastern Victoria

Growth Characteristics
Height (m): 2 - 5
Spread (m): 2 - 5
Soil Texture: sand, loam, clay
Soil pH: acid soils, neutral soils, alkaliine soils
Frost Sensitivity: moderately sensitive
Minimum Rainfall (mm): 450
Flower Colour: red
Flower Season: spring, summer

(source: SA State Flora Catalog)

Propagation
seed

Wildlife Interest
attracts birds, source of nectar

Classification

Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Genus:	Callistemon
Species:	citrinus
Common Name:	Crimson Bottlebrush

Relatives in same Genus
  Callistemon brachyandrus
  Callistemon citrinus 'Firebrand'
  Callistemon citrinus 'Splendens'
  Callistemon glaucus
  Callistemon linearis
  Callistemon montanus
  Callistemon pachyphyllus
  Callistemon pallidus
  Callistemon pearsonii
  Callistemon phoeniceus
  Callistemon pinifolius
  Callistemon pityoides
  Callistemon polandii
  Callistemon rugulosus
  Callistemon salignus
  Callistemon teretifolius
  Callistemon viminalis 'Hannah Ray'
  Callistemon viminalis 'Wildfire'
  Callistemon viminalis
  Callistemon 'Eureka'
  Callistemon 'Harkness'
  see A-Z list for more ...