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Callistemon

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}

{{Use Australian English|date=August 2016}}

{{Automatic taxobox

|image = Red_bottle_brush.jpg

|image_caption = Red bottlebrush flower

|display_parents = 2

|taxon = Callistemon

|authority = R.Br.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?1901 |title=Genus: Callistemon R. Br. |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |date=2009-01-27 |access-date=2010-04-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090523002639/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?1901 |archive-date=2009-05-23 |url-status=dead }}

}}

Callistemon {{IPAc-en|ˌ|k|æ|l|ᵻ|ˈ|s|t|iː|m|ən}}Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607 is a genus of shrubs in the family Myrtaceae, first described as a genus in 1814.Brown, Robert. 1814. Voyage to Terra Australis 2(App. 3): 547 The entire genus is endemic to Australia but widely cultivated in many other regions and naturalised in scattered locations.[http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=31406 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families] Their status as a separate taxon is in doubt, some authorities accepting that the difference between callistemons and melaleucas 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 resembling a traditional bottle brush. They are mostly found in the more temperate regions of Australia, especially along the east coast and typically favour moist conditions so when planted in gardens thrive on regular watering.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} However, two species are found in Tasmania and several others in the south-west of Western Australia. At least some species are drought-resistant and some are used in ornamental landscaping elsewhere in the world.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}

Image:Bottlebrush seeds.jpg

[[Callistemon citrinus|thumb|right]]

[[Callistemon pallidus |thumb|right]]

[[Callistemon viminalis|thumb|right]]

Image:Callistemon viminalis in an Adelaide garden.JPG

Image:C viminalis3.jpg

File:Bottlebrush or Little John -- Dwarf Callistemon.jpg

Taxonomy

The Latin name Callistemon comes from the combination of 2 Greek words of 'callis' meaning beauty and 'stemon' meaning stamen, referring to the flowers of the plant.{{cite web |last1=Scott |first1=Ian |title=Bottlebrush Tree Spiritual Meaning |url=https://thriveonnews.com/australias-bottle-brush-tree/ |website=Thrive On News Spiritual Magazine |access-date=25 May 2020 |language=en-AU |date=23 September 2017 |archive-date=20 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920021031/https://thriveonnews.com/australias-bottle-brush-tree/ |url-status=dead }}

The genus Callistemon was first formally described in 1814 by Robert Brown.{{cite web|title=Callistemon R.Br.'|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/boa/instance/apni/521774|publisher=APNI|access-date=22 July 2015}}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 Flinders [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/188245#page/575/] [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/107379#page/25/] and p. 19 of Bennett [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Miscellaneousbot01brow.djvu/37]. In his description he noted that the genus includes “those species of Metrosideros that have inflorescence similar to that of Melaleuca, and distinct elongated filaments.” Carl Linnaeus had described the genus Melaleuca in 1767{{cite web|title=Melaleuca R.Br.'|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/boa/instance/apni/582624|publisher=APNI|access-date=22 July 2015}} and in 1867, George Bentham brought all the Metrosideros species into Melaleuca. Bentham described melaleucas as having stamens united in bundles opposite the (five) petals.{{cite book|last1=Bentham|first1=George |last2=von Mueller|first2=Ferdinand |author-link2=Ferdinand von Mueller |title=Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae|date=1866|volume=3 |publisher=Lovell, Reeve and Co.|location=London|pages=123–163|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/41807#page/3/mode/1up|access-date=22 July 2015}}

In his 1864 description of Callistemon salignus in Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae, Ferdinand von Mueller noted that the difference between the genera was “entirely artificial” (“omnino artificiale").{{cite book|last1=von Mueller|first1=Ferdinand |author-link1=Ferdinand von Mueller |title=Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae |date=1864|volume=4 |location=Melbourne|page=55|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/7221#page/57/mode/1up|access-date=22 July 2015}} George Bentham also noted in Flora Australiensis that Callistemon “passes gradually into Melaleuca, with which F. Mueller proposes to unite it.”{{cite book|last1=Bentham|first1=George |last2=von Mueller |first2=Ferdinand |author-link2=Ferdinand von Mueller |title=Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae|date=1866|volume=3 |publisher=Lovell, Reeve and Co.|location=London|page=55|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/41807#page/126/mode/1up|access-date=22 July 2015}} In 1876, Henri Ernest Baillon proposed in Histoire des Plantes that Callistemon, as well as Calothamnus and Lamarchea be merged into Melaleuca.{{cite book|last1=Baillon|first1=Henri Ernest|title=Histoires des Plantes|date=1876|volume=6 |publisher=Libraire Hachette & Co.|location=Paris|pages=359–360|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/94878#page/362/mode/1up|access-date=22 July 2015}}

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 were clearly related, Lyndley Craven 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 evidence,{{cite Q|Q42308207}} in 2006{{cite journal|last1=Craven|first1=Lyn A.|title=New combinations in Melaleuca for Australian species of Callistemon (Myrtaceae)|journal=Novon|date=2006|volume=16|issue=4|pages=468–478|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11160106#page/482/mode/1up|access-date=22 July 2015|doi=10.3417/1055-3177(2006)16[468:ncimfa]2.0.co;2|s2cid=84723155 }} and 2009{{cite journal|last1=Craven|first1=Lyn A.|title=Melaleuca (Myrtaceae) from Australia|journal=Novon: A Journal for Botanical Nomenclature|date=10 December 2009|volume=19|issue=4|pages=444–453|doi=10.3417/2007137|s2cid=84165613|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40330691#page/452/mode/1up|access-date=22 July 2015}} 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.{{cite book|last1=Brophy|first1=Joseph J.|last2=Craven|first2=Lyndley A.|last3=Doran|first3=John C.|title=Melaleucas : their botany, essential oils and uses|date=2013|publisher=Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research|location=Canberra|isbn=9781922137517|page=18|url=http://aciar.gov.au/files/mn156-prelims_1.pdf|access-date=22 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528213958/http://aciar.gov.au/files/mn156-prelims_1.pdf|archive-date=28 May 2015|url-status=dead}}

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){{cite web|title=Species profile—Melaleuca flammea| date=20 October 2014 |url=https://environment.ehp.qld.gov.au/species-search/details/?id=35653|publisher=Queensland Government|access-date=22 July 2015}} but the New South Wales Herbarium accepts Callistemon acuminatus.{{cite web|last1=Spencer|first1=Roger David|last2=Lumley|first2=Peter F.|title=Callistemon acuminatus Cheel|url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Callistemon~acuminatus|publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney: Plantnet|access-date=22 July 2015}} 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.{{cite journal|last1=Brown|first1=Gillian K.|last2=Udovicic|first2=Frank|last3=Ladiges|first3=Pauline Y.|title=Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of Melaleuca, Callistemon and related genera (Myrtaceae)|journal=Australian Systematic Botany|date=2001|volume=14|issue=4|pages=565–585|doi=10.1071/SB00029}} They further argue that if all the genera Beaufortia, Callistemon, Calothamnus, Conothamnus, Eremaea, Melaleuca, Phymatocarpus were combined (as Craven has suggested),{{cite journal|last1=Craven|first1=Lyn A.|last2=Edwards|first2=Robert D.|last3=Cowley|first3=Kirsten J.|title=New combinations and names in Melaleuca (Myrtaceae)|journal=Taxon|date=30 June 2014|volume=63|issue=3|pages=663–670|doi=10.12705/633.38|doi-access=free}} then there would be no characteristics that would define the group.{{cite journal |last1=Udovicic |first1=Frank |last2=Spencer |first2=Roger D. |title=New combinations in Callistemon (Myrtaceae) |journal=Muelleria |date=2012 |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=23–25 |doi=10.5962/p.292240 |s2cid=251007557 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/59605029#page/25/mode/1up |access-date=29 September 2021|doi-access=free }}

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.{{cite web|last1=Williams|first1=Bryon|title=Growing Callistemon from Seed|url=http://anpsa.org.au/APOL21/mar01-2.html|publisher=Australian Native Plants Society Australia|access-date=22 July 2015}} 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, 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 causes the release of the seeds. A few species release the seeds annually.{{cite book|last1=Wrigley|first1=John W.|last2=Fagg|first2=Murray|title=Australian native plants : a manual for their propagation, cultivation and use in landscaping|date=1983|publisher=Collins|location=Sydney|isbn=978-0002165754|pages=191–194|edition=2nd}}{{cite web|last1=Harvey|first1=Rod|title=Bottlebrush - Genus Callistemon|url=http://www.anbg.gov.au/callistemon/|publisher=Australian National Botanic Garden|access-date=22 July 2015}}

Bottlebrush plants can be grown in pots.{{cite web|last1=Williams|first1=Bryon|title=Growing Callistemons in large pots|url=http://anpsa.org.au/APOL6/jun97-6.html|publisher=Australian Native Plants Society Australia|access-date=22 July 2015}}

They have been grown in Europe since a specimen of Callistemon citrinus was introduced to Kew Gardens in London by Joseph Banks in 1789.{{cite book|last1=Curtis|first1=William|title=The Botanical Magazine (Volume 8)|date=1794|location=London|page=260|edition=1|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24670/24670-h/24670-h.htm#Metrosideros_Citrina_Harsh-Leavd_Metrosideros|access-date=22 July 2015}}

Selected species

There are about 50 species of callistemon. They include:

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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.

File:Goupillon epicier.jpg|Illustration showing bottle brushes, the eponym of the plant

File:Callistemon Bottlebrush.jpg|Callistemon Bottlebrush

See also

References

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External links

  • {{Wikispecies-inline|Callistemon|Callistemon}}
  • {{Commons-inline|2=Callistemon}}
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/19991011222340/http://farrer.riv.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/callistn.html#intro The Callistemon Page]
  • [http://www.anbg.gov.au/callistemon/ Australian National Botanic Gardens: Callistemon (Bottlebrushes)]

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Category:Myrtaceae genera

Category:Endemic flora of Australia

Category:Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)