Callistemon salignus
| Callistemon salignus | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Callistemon |
| Species: | C. salignus |
| Binomial name | |
| Callistemon salignus Sm. Sweet[1] |
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| Synonyms | |
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Melaleuca salicina Craven |
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Callistemon salignus, commonly known as Willow Bottlebrush and White Bottlebrush, is an endemic Australian shrub or tree in the family Myrtaceae. The species occurs in New South Wales and Queensland.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Description
The species usually grows to between 4 and 10 metres in height and has narrow foliage, white papery bark, and new growth which is purplish-pink.[1] The bottlebrush flower-spikes appear during spring.[1] They are generally creamy white to yellow, though pink and red forms are also seen in cultivation.[1][2]
[edit] Taxonomy
The species was first formally described by botanist James Edward Smith in 1797 in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, and named Metrosideros saligna. In 1826, botanist Robert Sweet indicated that the species should be transferred to the genus Callistemon in Sweet's Hortus Britannicus.[3] In his 2006 paper "New Combinations in Melaleuca for Australian Species of Callistemon (Myrtaceae)", Lyndley Craven, a research botanist from the Australian National Herbarium, proposed that this species should be renamed as Melaleuca salicina.[3]
[edit] Cultivation
Callistemon salignus can be used for providing shelter and screening and is well-suited as a street tree, or for planting in parks and gardens. Additionally, flowers will attract birds to a garden.[2] The species is suited to a wide range of soil types, and can tolerate both wet and dry conditions, and near-coastal exposure.[2]
Cultivars include:
- C.salignus 'Carmine Pink'[3]
- C.salignus 'Demesne Red Splendour', also known as 'Red Splendour'[3]
- C.salignus 'Dwarf Pink’[3]
- C.salignus 'Fireball', also known as 'Great Balls of Fire'[3]
- C.salignus 'Maffra', a naturally occurring form from the Macalister River area near Maffra, Victoria[3]
- C.salignus 'Perth Pink'[4]
- C.salignus 'Peony Purple'[3]
- C.salignus 'Pink'[3]
- C.salignus 'Pink Tips'[3]
- C.salignus 'Rosy Red'[3]
- C.salignus 'Rubra'[3]
- C.salignus 'Snowdrift'. also known as 'Snowball' or 'Albus'[3]
- C.salignus 'Red Splendour'[3]
- C.salignus 'viridiflorus', a cultivar recorded in New Zealand in the late 1950s.[3]
The cultivar known as C. salignus 'Violet Rose', and known variously as C. 'Ward's Hybrid' and C. 'Tyrian Rose', is currently known as C. 'Eureka'[3]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e "Callistemon salignus". PlantNET - New South Wales Flora Online. Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney Australia. http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Callistemon~salignus. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
- ^ a b c Greig, D. (1987). The Australian Gardener's Wildflower Catalogue. Australia: Angus & Robertson. ISBN 0207154600.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Callistemon salignus". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra. http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/apni?TAXON_NAME=Callistemon+salignus. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
- ^ "List of Registered Cultivars derived from Australian native flora". Australian Cultivar Registration Authority. http://www.anbg.gov.au/acra/acra-list-2009.html. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
