Melaleuca flammea 

Location & distribution maps

Common name:         Tapering-leaved Bottlebrush

Conservation status: Rare

• Melaleuca flammea, as Callistemon acuminatus, is a classified in NSW as a "Rare or Threatened Australian Plant"

Etymology:   

• Melaleuca is derived from the Ancient Greek μέλας (mélas) meaning "dark" or "black" and λευκός (leukós) meaning "white"

• The specific epithet (flammea) is from the Latin flammeus meaning “fiery” or "fiery-red", referring to the fiery colour of the stamens

Flowers

• The flowers are deep red to crimson and arranged in spikes on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering

• The spikes are up to 70 mm in diameter with 25 to 120 individual flowers

• The petals are 3–5.4 mm long and fall off as the flower ages

• There are 20 to 32 bright red stamens in each flower

• Flowering occurs mainly in spring but often at other times of the year 

Fruit:                            

• A woody capsules, 3.9–5.5 mm long

Leaves:         

• Its leaves are arranged alternately and are 36–151 mm long, 6–31 mm wide, broad to narrow lance-shaped and gradually taper to a fine point

• They are also distinguished by their broad v-shape, wavy margin with scattered fine teeth and 12 to 33 distinct lateral veins

Stem & branches: 

Roots:         

Habit:        

• A shrub growing to 1–5 m tall with hard, fibrous bark

Habitat:   

• It usually grows in woodland or forest on dry, rocky hilltops

Distribution:                  

• Near Nambour in Queensland and in coastal areas of NSW from Port Stephens to the Clarence River district

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy 

  • Melaleuca flammea was first named in 2006 by Lyndley Craven in Novon 

  • It had first been formally described as Callistemon acuminatus by Edwin Cheel in 1911 in Illustrations of NSW from a specimen collected "on slopes of rocky mountains, Crawford River, 10km from Bullahdelah"

  • The Australian Plant Census accepts the name Callistemon acuminatus but it is regarded as a synonym of Melaleuca flammea by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

• Use in horticulture

  • Although not common in cultivation, this species is hardy, frost and drought tolerant and its distinctive leaves and large, brightly coloured flowers give it horticultural potential

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melaleuca_flammea (2024)