Swamp bottlebrush

Appearance

''Beaufortia sparsa'' is an evergreen shrub that grows to 1–3 metres tall and 1–2.5 metres wide. The leaves are bright green, oval-shaped, flat or slightly dished, 6–12 millimetres long and have many veins.

The flowers are bright orange to red in colour and arranged in bottlebrush-like spikes near the ends of the branches that continue to grow after flowering. The flowers have 5 sepals, 5 petals and 5 bundles of stamens each containing about 5 stamens. The hypanthium is about 2 millimetres long but the stamens, which give the flowers their colour, are up to 26 millimetres long. Flowers are produced from January to April and from September to November and are followed by fruits which are woody capsules which are retained on the stems indefinitely.

Naming

''Beaufortia sparsa'' was first formally described in 1812 by Scottish botanist, Robert Brown in William Aiton's Hortus Kewensis. The specific epithet is a Latin word meaning "scattered".

Distribution

''Beaufortia sparsa'' mainly occurs between Busselton and Albany in the Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren biogeographic regions. It usually grows in sand in swampy places or near watercourses.

Status

''Beaufortia orbifolia'' is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian government Department of Parks and Wildlife.

Habitat

''Beaufortia sparsa'' mainly occurs between Busselton and Albany in the Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren biogeographic regions. It usually grows in sand in swampy places or near watercourses.

Cultural

Swamp bottlebrush is probably the most widely cultivated in the genus ''Beaufortia'' but it is not well known in gardens. It is difficult to grow in the more humid eastern states but in dirier climates is a colourful feature.