Greening - Tree Labels with QR Codes (26)

Tall Bottle-brush, Weeping Bottlebrush, Drooping Bottlebrush, Creek Bottlebrush, Red Bottlebrush

Scientific Name : Callistemon viminalis (Sol. ex Gaertn.) G. Don
Common Name : Tall Bottle-brush, Weeping Bottlebrush, Drooping Bottlebrush, Creek Bottlebrush, Red Bottlebrush
Chinese Name : 串錢柳, 垂枝紅千層
Family : MYRTACEAE
Local distribution status : Exotic species

Anecdotes on plants

video

Origins	East coast of Australia, from Cape York to New South Wales.
Applications	The species is a fantastic horticultural plant. It is characterised by its fast growth rate, strong adaptability, ability to control soil erosion and shade tolerance. Apart from being a gardening plant and street tree, the species can be cultivated in buffer strips, parking lots and sides of highways, or as hedges and screen plants. However, the species is not tolerant to cold and is prone to frost damage, having high water demand, and should be planted in moist soil with good drainage, otherwise it could be easily infected by the fungus Sphaeropsis tumefacens Hedges.
Meanings of names	Among its various English names, the species was entitled the word “bottlebrush”, which describes its compact spike. With pendulous branchlets, it also looks like a Weeping Willow (Salix babylonica L.), hence giving it the name “Coin-string Willow (串錢柳)” in Chinese, “Weeping Bottlebrush” and “Drooping Bottlebrush” in English. The natural habitat of this riparian plant is along the creeks and rivers, hence the name “Creek Bottlebrush” was given.

Traits for identification

Growing habit	Evergreen tree.
Height	To 5 m.
Stems	Bark of trunk blackish, thick, with longitudinal cracks. Branching comparatively low, trunk relatively short. Branchlets pendulous and loose, like willows.
Leaves	Linear to lanceolate, sessile, apex acute, with obvious spots of oil glands. Midvein prominent abaxially. Young leaves sericeous.
Flowers	Closely arranged spike, terminal, drooping. Sepals 5; petals 5, greenish. Stamens numerous. Both stamens and pistils red, exserted from corolla, shaped like a bottlebrush. Hence the English name “Red bottlebrush” was given. After blossoming, the branchlets continue to grow new leaves.
Fruits	Capsule, brown, persistent.
Flowering period	March to May in Hong Kong.
Fruiting period	August in Hong Kong.

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Remarks

Scientific name above is based on Hong Kong Herbarium website : https://www.herbarium.gov.hk/en/hk-plant-database/plant-detail/index.html?pType=species&oID=3518

Scientific names from other databases
― Plants of the World Online : Melaleuca viminalis (Sol. ex Gaertn.) Byrnes

Reference

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD). (2018). A Photographic Guide to Common Urban Trees of Hong Kong. 3^rd edition. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, Hong Kong. ISBN: 978-988-12021-3-0.
Beentjie, H. (2016). The Kew Plant Glossary. 2^nd edition, 1^st in 2012. Kew Publishing, Royal Botanical Garden, Surrey, U.K. ISBN: 978-1-84246-604-9.
Gilman, E. F. & Watson, D. G. (1993). Callistemon viminalis, Weeping Bottlebrush. Fact Sheet ST-111, a series of the Environmental Horticulture Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Retrieved 24^th April 2020, from: http://hort.ufl.edu/database/documents/pdf/tree_fact_sheets/calvima.pdf
Hickey, M. & King, C. (2000). The Cambridge Illustrated Glossary of Botanical Terms. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN-13: 978-0-521-79401-5. ISBN-10: 0-521-79401-3.
Hong Kong Herbarium, Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department & South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. (2007-2011). Callistemon viminalis G. Don 串錢柳. Flora of Hong Kong. [Online Edition]. Retrieved 2^nd April 2020, from: https://www.herbarium.gov.hk/FloraOfHK/Species/3518/3518_S_E.pdf
Hu, S. Y. (1972). Terminology for Modern Plant Taxonomy with Chinese Equivalents. [School material]. Biology Department, Chung Chi College, The Chinese University of Hongkong, Hong Kong.
Jackson, R, (1982). Callistemon viminalis. Growing Native Plants. Australian National Botanic Gardens and Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Canberra. Retrieved 24^th April 2020, from: https://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/gnp12/callistemon-viminalis.html
National Parks Board, Government of Singapore. (2020). Melaleuca viminalis (Sol. ex Gaertn.) Byrnes. National Parks Flora and Fauna Web. Retrieved 21^st May 2020, from: https://www.nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/flora/2/7/2773
Shiu-Ying Hu Herbarium. (2020). Callistemon viminalis G. Don 串錢柳. Factsheet. Taxonomical Archive System. Wu Jieh Yee Charitable Foundation Native Plant Resources and Database in Hong Kong. Retrieved 2^nd April 2020, from: https://syhuherbarium.sls.cuhk.edu.hk/collections/factsheet/callistemon-viminalis/
Shiu-Ying Hu Herbarium. (2020). Callistemon viminalis G. Don 串錢柳. Pro-Factsheet. Taxonomical Archive System. Wu Jieh Yee Charitable Foundation Native Plant Resources and Database in Hong Kong. Retrieved 2^nd April 2020, from: https://syhuherbarium.sls.cuhk.edu.hk/collections/factsheet-pro/callistemon-viminalis/
Zich, F. A., Hyland, B. P. M., Whiffin, T. & Kerrigan, R. A. (2018). Melaleuca viminalis. Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants, Edition 7. Retrieved 24^th April 2020, from: http://www.canbr.gov.au/cpbr/cd-keys/RFK7/key/RFK7/Media/Html/entities/Melaleuca_viminalis.htm
中國科學院仙湖植物園。（2010）。《深圳植物誌》（第2卷）。北京 : 中國林業出版社。國際標準書號 : 978-7-5038-5884-0。