Burra bottlebrush

Description

Melaleuca chisholmii (Synonym; Callistemon chisholmii) commonly known as Burra bottlebrush is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a shrub with rough bark, an open habit and spiky foliage but in winter has bright red flower spikes tipped with yellow. Melaleuca chisholmii is a shrub growing to 3–4 m (9.8–13.1 ft) tall with rough, dark grey or fibrous brown bark. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are 25–100 mm (0.98–3.94 in) long, 1–7 mm (0.039–0.276 in) wide, flat, linear to narrow egg-shaped with the narrower end near the base and with the end tapering to a sharp point. The flowers are arranged in spikes on the ends of branches that continue to grow after flowering. The spikes are up to 4–50 mm (0.16–1.97 in) in diameter and 60–80 mm (2.4–3.1 in) long with ten to thirty individual flowers. The petals are 3.1–5.6 mm (0.12–0.22 in) long and fall off as the flower ages. There are 25 to 57 stamens in each flower, with red filaments red yellow anthers. Flowering occurs from May to August and is followed by fruit that are woody capsules, 3.7–6.1 mm (0.15–0.24 in) long in cylindrical spikes that remain on the stem for a lengthy period.