Callistemon pachyphyllus

Callistemon pachyphyllus (Wallum Bottlebrush) is a shrub in the family Myrtaceae. It is native to the states of New South Wales and Queensland in Australia.^[1]

It grows up to 1.5 metres in height and has a dense, straggling habit. The leaves are 45 to 90 mm long and 3 to 9 mm wide with tips that become abruptly narrow. These are crowded together on the branchlets and are linear, subulate or terete. The flower spikes, which are crimson or rarely yellowish green, are produced in summer.^[1]

The species was first formally described by botanist Edwin Cheel in 1911 in Illustrations of New South Wales plants.^[2] 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 pachyphylla.^[2]

A number of varieties have been identified in the past, but are not recognised in the Australian Plant Census:

• C. pachyphyllus var. angustifolius Cheel
• C. pachyphyllus Cheel var. pachyphyllus
• C. pachyphyllus var. viridus Cheel, also known by the cultivar names of 'Green' or 'Apple Green'
• C. pachyphyllus var. rubrolilacinus Cheel^[2]

Cultivation

Cultivars include:

• C. pachyphyllus 'Smoked Salmon'

References