12 October 2023
Bottlebrush (callistemon) is another gorgeous Australian native plant. I have taken these photos over a few weeks looking out if I could spot it in different colours. So far I have seen spectacular bright red and shiny lemony yellow.
Their flowers resemble a traditional bottle brush, hence the name.
Their scientific name Callistemon comes from the Greek words ‘callis’ meaning beauty and ‘stemon’ meaning stamen, together referring to the beautiful stamen, which is so true.
Bottlebrushes are very hardy and can live for 20 to 40 years in the right conditions.
Apparently the flowers will be followed by small woody fruit with hundreds of tiny seeds inside it. The seeds are usually not released for several years and their release can also be stimulated by fire.
I think this is a dwarf variety called Little John, with its deep red coloured flowers.
Absolutely stunning bright red against the blue sky!