IDENTIFICATION OF CALLISTEMON BOTTLEBRUSH (Callistemon citrinus)

CALLISTEMON BOTTLEBRUSH (Callistemon citrinus)

The genus Callistemon belongs to the Myrtaceae family and consists of about thirty-four varieties, ‘Callistemon’ means Anther beauty, it is an evergreen shrubs and small tree with lanceolate and aromatic leaves which are prevalent to Australia although a number of them have been brought to other regions like USA and Africa. Callistemon is referred to as ‘bottle brush’ owing to its cylindrical brush like flowers resembling the conventional bottle brush. The brilliant red flowers spikes of Callistemon citrinus are extremely rich in nectar and as a result attract many birds and insects. Callistemon had been used as anticough and antibronchitis in folkloric medicine. The antiphylococcal, nematocidal, larvicidal, pupicidal, antithrombotic and antioxidant activities of the class Callistemon species and also the antimicrobial properties of their volatile oils had been widely reported (Larayetan et al., 2017).

Morphological character

Habitus : shrubs, reaching 1 m high with slender branches; bent branches; brown to gray and coarse bark, also recaptured. The leaves are linear (3-6 cm long); reddish when young; lemon-scented. Inflorescences are arranged in panicles; 2-5 cm long; at the end of the flowering shoots grow young; pale green flower petals; flower crown consists of 5; many stamens; red with a length of 2-5 cm. The fruit is oval in shape and can survive on stalks for years, containing a variety of seeds. This bottle brush flower can flower all year long. To get good flowers, these plants must be planted with full sun.

Classification             

Kingdom       :  Plantae 

Division         :  Tracheophyta 

Class              :  Magnoliopsida

Order              : Myrtales

Family            : Myrtaceae

Genus             : Callistemon

Species            : Callistemon citrinus (Curtis) Skeels

       Reference

      Larayetan, R. A., Okoh, O. O., Sadimenko, A., & Okoh, A. I., 2017. Terpene constituents of the aerial parts, phenolic content, antibacterial potential, free radical scavenging and antioxidant activity of Callistemon citrinus (Curtis) Skeels (Myrtaceae) from Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 17(1), pp.292.