Leaf
Tournasol7, Wikimedia · CC BY 4.0
Crimson bottlebrush
Melaleuca citrina (Curtis) Skeels
Also known as: Lemon bottlebrush, Bottlebrush
Family: Myrtaceae
2 to 4 m tall
Planted as a specimen or in beds, mild climate, free-draining soils
Flowering: May – July
Full sun
Not very hardy, dislikes frost below -8°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
The bottlebrush flower has almost no visible petals — what we see as a bristly bright red spike is in fact a mass of long coloured stamens, the true petals being tiny and hidden.
🍃 Leaves
Evergreen, narrow, lanceolate, giving off a lemony scent when crushed
🌸 Flowers
Bright red, grouped in cylindrical spikes bristling with long stamens, recalling a bottle brush
🍎 Fruits
Small woody capsule persisting along the twigs
🪵 Bark
Brown, peeling in strips
🗺️ Distribution
Native to Australia; grown in France in mild climates, especially on the Mediterranean coast
🐝 Value for pollinators
Spikes rich in nectar, extremely attractive to bees and bumblebees
✂️ Horticultural uses
Spectacular ornamental shrub planted for its original bright red bottle-brush-shaped flowering
⚠️ Possible toxicity
No notable known toxicity
🌿 Other Myrtaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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