Carmine cylinder cleaner
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Carmine cylinder cleaner ( Callistemon citrinus ) with inflorescences |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Callistemon citrinus | ||||||||||||
| ( Curtis ) Skeels |
The Ruby Zylinderputzer ( Callistemon citrinus ) is a plant of the genus Callistemon ( Callistemon ) within the family of myrtle (Myrtaceae). It originates from Australia and is used as an ornamental plant because of its showy cylindrical inflorescences .
description
The crimson cylinder cleaner grows as an evergreen , independently upright shrub with heights of usually 1 to 3 meters, more rarely as a small tree with heights of 2 to 7 meters. The crown reaches a diameter of about 3 meters. The bark is light brown and rough. The alternate leaves arranged on the branches are more or less sedentary. With a length of 3 to 7 centimeters and a width of 5 to 8 millimeters, the simple, leathery leaf blade is inverted-lanceolate to narrow-elliptical, with a tapering base of the blade and usually a piercing short-pointed upper end. The leaf veins are barely recognizable on both leaf surfaces and the glands are sometimes clearly visible. The grated leaves smell slightly of lemon, hence the specific epithet citrinus . The freshly sprouting leaves are silvery hairy and often gold to copper colored at first.
The flowering period extends from spring to summer, often well into autumn. The annual inflorescences are 6 to 10 cm long and 4 to 7 cm in diameter and are reminiscent of bottle brushes in appearance. The inflorescence is inconspicuous. Of the individual flower parts, the bright red, crimson, purple or purple stamens , depending on the population or variety, are visually striking, giving the entire inflorescence the striking crimson color. The anthers are dark. The inflorescence axis continues its development above the inflorescence with a number of normal leaves . After a while the next inflorescence appears, often before the fruits of the old inflorescence have ripe. Pollination is mainly done by bird species that do not master the hovering flight and which sit on the branches in the flower-free shoot sections to exploit the flowers.
The relatively woody, hard capsule fruits have a diameter of 4 to 7 mm and contain many tiny seeds. The capsule fruits often remain closed on the plant for several years. Only after a bush fire do the capsule fruits open and release the seeds; the carmine cylinder cleaner is a pyrophyte .
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 22.
Occurrence
The natural range of the crimson cylinder cleaner is in the southeastern Australian states of the eastern New South Wales , the eastern Queensland and the eastern tip of Victoria .
It is widespread and often found in places in swamps near the coast and along rocky watercourses.
Taxonomy
It was first published in 1794 by the English botanist William Curtis under the name ( Basionym ) Metrosideros citrina in Botanical Magazine , Volume 8, Plate 260. The new combination to Callistemon citrinus was made in 1913 by the American botanist Homer Collar Skeels in the US Department of Agriculture Bureau of Plant Industry Bulletin , Volume 282, p. 49. The specific epithet citrina, citrinus refers to the foliage leaves that have a slight lemon scent. Further synonyms for Callistemon citrinus (Curtis) Skeels are: Metrosideros lanceolata Sm. Nom. illeg., Callistemon lanceolatum var. sparsum Rule orth. var., Callistemon lanceolatus (Sm.) DC. , Callistemon lanceolatus Colvill ex Sweet var. Lanceolatus , Callistemon lanceolatus Colvill ex Sweet f. lanceolatus , Callistemon lanceolatum Colvill orth. var., Melaleuca citrina (Curtis) Dum.Cours. , Callistemon citrinus (Curtis) Skeels var. Citrinus , Callistemon citrinus (Curtis) Stapf , Callistemon lanceolatus var. Sparsus rule nom. inval., Callistemon lanceolatus Colvill ex Sweet nom. illeg., Callistemon laevis Anon. nom. inval., Callistemon marginatus (Cav.) DC. , Callistemon lophanthum Sweet orth. Var., Metrosideros rugulosa Sieber ex Benth. nom. illeg., Callistemon lanceolatum var. pendulum rule orth. var., Callistemon lanceolatus f. semperflorens (Lodd., G.Lodd. & W.Lodd.) Siebert & Voss , Metrosideros semperflorens Lodd., G.Lodd. & W.Lodd. , Callistemon citrinus var. Splendens Stapf , Callistemon lanceolatus var. Pendulus Regel , Callistemon lanceolatus var. Lophanthus (Vent.) Heynh. , Callistemon lophanthus (Vent.) Sweet , Metrosideros lophantha Vent. , Callistemon marginatus < (Cav.) Sweet , Metrosideros marginata Cav. , Metrosideros latifolia Dum.Cours. nom. inval., Callistemon lanceolatus var. semperflorens (Lodd., G.Lodd. & W.Lodd.) Heynh. , Callistemon marginatum Sweet orth. Var., Callistemon semperflorens (Lodd., G.Lodd. & W.Lodd.) Heynh. , Callistemon citrina Skeels orth.var.
use
The carmine cylinder cleaner is used in many ways as an ornamental plant, for example in subtropical parks and gardens, or as a container plant in temperate latitudes.
It is a multitude of varieties that were not created through crossbreeding, but through vegetative selection. Here is a selection:
- 'Burgundy': With purple flowers.
- 'Endeavor': With red flowers.
- 'Mauve Mist': With mauve colored flowers.
- 'Reeves Pink': With pink flowers.
- 'White Anzac': With white flowers.
The leaves can be added to tea mixtures and have an enjoyable, refreshing taste.
A tan dye is obtained from the flowers and no dressing agent is required. A cinnamon-colored dye is obtained from the leaves.
The hard, heavy wood is too small to be used economically. But tool handles are made from it. It is also used as firewood.
Pests and diseases
The fungus Sphaeropsis tumefacens can cause gall formation on young shoots.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i R. D. Spencer & PF Lumley: Callistemon citrinus at New South Wales Flora Online . last accessed on March 5, 2013
- ↑ Callistemon citrinus at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
- ↑ a b c Entry in Australian Plant Name Index = APNI . Retrieved March 5, 2013
- ↑ Entry in Tropicos . Retrieved March 5, 2013.
- ↑ Rafaël Govaerts (ed.): Callistemon citrinus. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved March 5, 2013.
- ↑ Entry at GRIN . Retrieved March 5, 2013.
- ↑ Gordon Cheers (Ed.): Botanica. The ABC of plants. 10,000 species in text and images . Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft, 2003, ISBN 3-8331-1600-5 (therein page 169).
- ↑ Brief description from the Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants (ASGAP) ( Memento of the original from July 16, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved March 5, 2013.
- ↑ a b c Entry in Plants for A Future . Retrieved March 5, 2013.
Web links
- Entry at Floridata . (English)
- Entry at desert-tropicals.com . (English)
- Datasheet at australiaplants.com . (English)