Bottle Brush Plants

Information on Australian Bottle Brush Plants

Bottle brush plants are medium-size trees or bush with flowers that resemble a bottle brush. They belong to the genus Callistemon and family Myrtaceae, and there are 34 species of them in Australia, 30 of which are endemic. Here is some information about a few species, their adaptations, flowers and where in Australia you can see them.

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Flowering and Habitat
Different species are mainly found in temperate regions, along the east coast of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria; and south western WA, where the climate is not too hot or too dry. They commonly flower in spring and summer although local conditions may make them flower at other times. They are relatively slow growing plants that can grow up to 15 metres high.

Bottle Brush Flower
Bottle Brush plants have got a very distinctive flower which is most often red, but can also be white, creamy, orange, yellow or green. Unlike most other flowers, where the petals are usually the most visible part, the most obvious parts of the bottle brush flower are stamens. This is thought to be due to co-evolution with their pollinators, which often are birds and small mammals. Some other Australian plants like Banksias and Grevilleas have the same adaptation.

Common Species of Bottle Brush Plants

The most common bottle brush bush in Australia is the Weeping Bottlebrush (Callistemon viminalis). It is a large scrub or tree with drooping branches, dark grey bark and linear leaves. Its flowers are bright red, with 5 small petals and numerous 20mm long stamens. It is native to Queensland and New South Wales, and it likes sandstone and granite country and river banks.

Another relatively common bottle brush is the White Bottlebrush (Callistemon salignus). It is a scrub or medium sized tree with light grey or white bark, narrow alternate leaves and flowers that are most often creamy to yellow, but can rarely be pink, red and greenish. It grows up to 15 metres high and it is found in Queensland and New South Wales where it grown in rocky areas, swamp edges and river banks.

Other Species of Bottle Brush Bush

Another bottle brush bush species native to Queensland and New South Wales is Cliff Bottlebrush (Callistemon comboynensis). It is a small plant, up to 2 metres tall and it has crimson coloured flowers.

Crimson Bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus) grows up to 3 metres high and is found in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

Lemon Bottlebrush (Callistemon pallidus) has got creamy to yellow flowers and grown up to 5 metres high. It is found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.

Betka Bottlebrush (Callistemon kenmorrisonii) is an up to 3 metres tall plant that is found in Victoria, where it grows in the Betka River area in eastern Gippsland.

Scarlet Bottlebrush (Callistemon rugulosus) has got red flowers, grows up to 4 metres high, and is found in Victoria and South Australia.

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NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.

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