60 NATIVE FLOWERS OP VICTORIA. 
tralian flora, abundanoo of flovrers, and an axtandad 
flowering period. 
The Melaleucas are not correctly tea-trees, but 
somehow the name has become attached to this genus 
as well. The leaves are small, the habit of the shrubs 
generally erect, and the flowers are like small bottle- 
brushes. The colour of the flowers extends from 
pink and purplish to yellow and white. While the 
flowers of many species are of decorative value, parti- 
cularly those bearing pink and purplish flowers, the 
local forms of Melaleuca are not so decorative for 
garden work as are those of some of the other States. 
Melaleuca hypericifolia carries the largest flowers 
and is of a red colour, while Melaleuca gibbosa and 
Melaleuca decussata, with purplish flowers, are 
always very decorative. Another plant, Kun- 
zea parvifolia, having pink flowers, is very simi- 
lar in appearance to the Melaleucas, and is worthy 
of a place in our gardens. 
The genus of plants known as bottle-brushes is 
botanically known as Callistemon. These are ele- 
gant, hardy, and uncommon-looking shrubs, especially 
at flowering-time. The young leaves are bright in 
colour and make the plants very decorative in 
the spring. Their flowers are usually in vari- 
ous shades of red, two species being yellowish. 
Callistemon brachyandrus bears an elegant flower 
with clusters of scarlet stamens and yellow anthers; 
Callistemon coccineus and Callistemon lanceolatus 
have flowers in shades of crimson and are very large ; 
Callistemon linearis has a rose-coloured brush with 
yellow stamens. These shrubs all retain their seed- 
