MELBOURNE STREET TREES 91 - WILLOW BOTTLEBRUSH

Callistemon salignus, commonly known as Willow Bottlebrush or the White Bottlebrush, is an endemic Australian shrub or tree in the family Myrtaceae. The species occurs in New South Wales and Queensland. 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. The bottlebrush flower-spikes appear during spring. They are generally creamy white to yellow, though pink and red forms are also seen in cultivation.

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. 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.

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. The species is suited to a wide range of soil types, and can tolerate both wet and dry conditions, and near-coastal exposure.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.