Flowers of Callistemon have a sweet, delicious nectar that bees, butterflies and birds drink up with purpose and pleasure. Native bottlebrushes are extremely attractive to nectar-feeding birds, especially honeyeaters including wattlebirds, because they produce plenty of nectar and pollen. The Western Australian Callistemon have bright red flowers which serve to attract birds, as birds respond strongly to visual cues. Even some typically seed-eating birds, like black cockatoos, enjoy feeding on Callistemon flowers. A range of primarily insectivorous birds, such as fairy-wrens and thornbills also use Callistemon for their dense cover and to feed on insects attracted to the flowers.  

To be effective pollinators, birds and other flower visitors must brush past the long stamens, collecting pollen, while getting to the nectar in the cup-like base of each flower, and then moving, carrying pollen, to another flower (from the plant’s perspective preferably on another individual, thus achieving crosspollination).

The bottlebrush carries a wealth of cultural symbolism and practical uses for Aboriginal peoples. For thousands of years, indigenous Australians have found diverse applications for the resilient tree, ranging from nourishment to medicinal remedies to weapons.

Callistemon phoeniceus is known as birdak or tubada by Noongar Traditional Owners of south-west Australia who obtained the ngongyang (nectar) either by simply licking the flower or making a sweet drink by mixing the flower with water. The sweet flower drinks were consumed at ceremonial occasions and the leaves and bark were steeped to create a healing tea with medicinal benefits.  

The sturdy wood from larger bushes and trees was used to craft spears and digging sticks. The durable wood also lent itself to the creation of didgeridoos.  

If there’s one thing that bottlebrushes are known for is that they are extremely tough and long-lived, and thankfully for many aspiring gardeners, almost impossible to kill.

What makes them truly captivating are their distinctive bottlebrush-shaped flowers, with their long, cylindrical clusters of stamens that bloom red, pink, and cream commonly. There are also some bottlebrush plants that bloom in shades of purple, orange, and yellow.

Some botanists argue Callistemon should be included in the genus Melaleuca due to the morphological similarities. However, this taxonomic revision was not adopted by the WA Herbarium for the two WA species, nor at the current time by the Australian Plant Census.

European botanists and collectors of the late 18th century showed considerable interest in the plants of Australia. Callistemon phoeniceus was introduced to English horticulture in 1843 from seed supplied by James Drummond from the area around the Swan River colony.  

Whether Callistemon or Melaleuca, they belong to the Myrtaceae family and tribe Melaleucae, which also includes the genera Beaufortia, Calothamnus, Eremaea, Phymatocarpus and Regelia.