Cliff bottlebrush Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Cliff bottlebrush

Melaleuca comboynensis flowers
Scientific classification
Genus:	Melaleuca
Species:	comboynensis
Synonyms
Callistemon comboynensis Cheel

The Cliff Bottlebrush (Melaleuca comboynensis) is a special plant. It belongs to the myrtle family, called Myrtaceae. This plant only grows in New South Wales and Queensland in Australia.

Many people know it as a bottlebrush because of its bright red flowers. It often grows as a shrub. It looks a bit like another plant called Melaleuca citrina. Both have tough leaves, red flowers that grow in spikes, and round, cup-shaped fruits. But the Cliff Bottlebrush has wider leaves. It also likes to grow on rocky cliffs, not usually near water.

M. comboynensis near The Granites lookout in the Gibraltar Range National Park

What it Looks Like
Plant Names and History
Where it Grows
Growing it in Gardens
Images for kids
See also

What it Looks Like

The Cliff Bottlebrush is usually a small shrub or tree. It can grow from about 1 foot (0.3 meters) to 16 feet (5 meters) tall. It has tough bark.

Its leaves grow one after another along the stem. They are about 1 to 3.7 inches (27 to 95 mm) long. They are also about 0.3 to 0.7 inches (7 to 17 mm) wide. The leaves are flat and shaped like a narrow egg, with a pointy end.

The flowers grow in spikes, usually at the end of the branches. These spikes can be up to 2.5 inches (65 mm) long and wide. Each spike has 15 to 50 individual flowers. The petals are small, about 0.1 to 0.2 inches (3 to 6.1 mm) long. They fall off as the flower gets older. Each flower has 31 to 41 stamens. These are the parts that hold pollen. Their "stalks" are red or crimson, and their "tips" are dark purple.

You can see this plant flowering from March to December. After the flowers, it grows woody fruits. These fruits are like small capsules, about 0.16 to 0.27 inches (4.1 to 7 mm) long.

Plant Names and History

The scientific name Melaleuca comboynensis was first given in 2006. It was named by a scientist named Lyndley Craven.

Before that, in 1943, another scientist named Edwin Cheel described it. He called it Callistemon comboynensis. He found his first plant in the "Comboyne Ranges" in cracks in rocks. The name comboynensis tells us where the first plant was found.

Today, many plant experts agree that Callistemon comboynensis is the same plant as Melaleuca comboynensis.

Where it Grows

This special bottlebrush grows in the high parts of Australia. You can find it between the Border Ranges National Park in southern Queensland and the Gibraltar Range in northern New South Wales. It also grows in some lower areas near the Murray River in Victoria and South Australia.

It mostly likes to grow on rocky hilltops. You can often see it in cracks in rocks. It usually grows above 1,640 feet (500 meters) high.

Growing it in Gardens

The Cliff Bottlebrush is a popular plant for gardens. People like to grow it because it is pretty and strong. It does well in places with a mild climate.