Callistemon pityoides

Callistemon pityoides
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Genus:	Callistemon
Species:	C. pityoides
Binomial name
Callistemon pityoides F.Muell.[1]
Synonyms
Callistemon sieberi var. pityoides (F.Muell.) Cheel Melaleuca pityoides (F.Muell.) L.F. Craven

Callistemon pityoides (Alpine Bottlebrush) is a shrub species in the family Myrtaceae. It is native to the states of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria in Australia. It grows to 3 metres in height and has silvery-grey new growth. The thick, almost cylindrical leaves are 10 to 20 mm long and 0.75 to 1.5 mm wide with sharply pointed tips. Golden yellow or cream flower spikes are mostly produced between November and January in the species native range. These may be tinged with pink or green.^[1]

The species was first formally described by botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in 1883 in Australian Chemist and Druggist, from material gathered from the environs of the Ovens River and Dumaresque River.^[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 pityoides.^[2]

Cultivation

Cultivars include:

• C. pityoides 'Cobberas Dwarf', also known as 'Little Cobber'^[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Callistemon pityoides". PlantNET - New South Wales Flora Online. Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney Australia. http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Callistemon~pityoides. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Callistemon pityoides". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra. http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/apni?TAXON_NAME=Callistemon+pityoides. Retrieved 2009-11-04.