Common Name(s): Weeping Bottlebrush

Synonym(s):

Family: Myrtaceae

Native To: Eastern Australia

Native Habitat: Along water courses in the coastal plains

Growth Habit: Graceful large evergreen tree

Flowering: Strikingly red, the dominant stamens form in late spring, and sometimes throughout the summer and fall

Distinguishing Characteristics: This evergreen tree grows to heights of 15 to 20 feet with an equal spread. The open crown is round and weeping. The tree has multiple gray trunks and drooping, slender branches. The narrow lanceolate or elliptical shaped leaves are light green and 3 to 4 inches long. The leaves tend to grow only at the ends of branches, creating a weeping effect. The flowers of the C. viminalis are formed on spikes and are typically about 1 inch wide. The flowers have petals that are quite tiny and greenish to pale in color and sometimes fall off. The strikingly red stamens of the flowers are rather showy. The flowers form in the spring and/or fall, and sometimes throughout the year. The fruit is not so beautiful as the flowers. They are round, about ½ inch wide, hard, and brownish in color.

Natural History and Cultivation Notes: The genus name means beautiful stamen, referring to the trees beautiful multi-stamened red flowers. The species name refers to its willow like structure and means long slender shoots.

Ethnobotany: This plant is widely used as an ornamental because of its beautiful flowers. It is also planted frequently in lawns and next to houses as a screening source. The weeping bottlebrush is occasionally planted in street mediums and in parking lots, but, if done so, requires frequent trimming.

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