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Bottlebrush

Callistemon citrinus · Myrtaceae · all Callistemon records

Your local evidence lens

Separate evidence questions, never one approval badge

Set a ZIP to compare this record with state distribution, native range, USDA hardiness, and invasive records.

A genus split is not a placement verdict. Set a ZIP to read the local documented split.

1. Fire evidence and conditions

Fire evidence: Mixed evidence — location does not change the cited classification.
Fire-performance conditions: No test or rating condition is normalized.
Fire ecology context: No section-reviewed fire-ecology context is normalized.
Placement evidence: 5 source placement records; source schemes remain separate.
Evidence regions: Austin, Texas; Catalonia, Spain; Georgetown, Texas; Global; Tasmania, Australia; eastern US
Maintenance: No sourced horticultural maintenance assertion is normalized; fire-test conditions do not supply maintenance advice.

Typed publication scope: 2 scopes across 2 cited fire sources

Firewise Plant Guide · Official scoped edition
- Sun City Texas, Georgetown (TX footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2015-01-14
  The guide is authored for the Sun City Texas community in Georgetown. FireApproved publishes 142 exact owners only as community-level context. It is an archived HOA exhibit with unknown rating lineage, not a current statewide Texas source or an independent Tier 1 determination.
Firewise Landscaping (Travis County) · Official scoped edition
- Travis County, Austin area (TX footprint); partial normalized coverage · 2024-01-16
  Texas A&M AgriLife Extension publishes this page through its Travis County horticulture program. FireApproved publishes 56 exact owners and retains the source's zone and warning conditions. This is county/Austin regional context, not a second statewide Texas table or site clearance.

2. Why this plant is relevant here

State distribution: Documented in DC, DE, LA, MD, NJ, OH, PA, PR, WV.
Native range: No current cited or legacy state native range is normalized.
Introduced / established: No introduced or established row is normalized; that does not prove native status.
USDA hardiness: Only uncertain or inapplicable hardiness rows are cited; no primary zone is projected.

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

Legal-list status: Set a location for an exact legal-list result; source silence is not clearance.
Seed-list status: Set a location to compare the separate state noxious-weed seed layer.
Reported invasive here: 1 ecological invasive report; set a location to distinguish exact from regional context.
Broader regional context: Aggregate AK, HI, and L48 evidence is shown only as regional context, never as an exact-state finding.
Federal context: Federal designations remain separate from state legal-list results.

How to read this page

The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.

Bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus) — Photo: (c) H. Zell, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) (CC BY-SA), via iNaturalist. Species-typical, not necessarily this cultivar.

Form: shrub
USDA hardiness: Only uncertain or inapplicable source rows; no primary zone projected
Mature height: ~10 ft
Light: Full sun
Grows in: DC, DE, LA, MD, NJ, OH, PA, PR +1
Rated in: Austin, Texas; Catalonia, Spain; Georgetown, Texas; Global +2
Family: Myrtaceae
Evidence: 19 cited sources

Plant hardiness evidence

These values describe the plant source. Your ZIP zone comes from the separate 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Whole-zone values stay whole-zone, and a single unresolved value is not treated as a tolerance range. Different source boundaries stay separate: overlapping statements are compared independently, while only ranges with no shared zone are called a conflict.

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector · record callistemon-citrinus · 2016-wayback · as of 2026-08-26

Source prints 7 · single-value meaning unresolved · whole zone precision · source stated

Source taxon: Callistemon citrinus · exact match.

Source location: Cold Hardiness Zone field in the recovered selector record.

Not used for comparison: The recovered selector prints one Cold Hardiness Zone value but does not define it as a minimum threshold or a one-zone range.

Where its sources say to plant it

Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating. They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector: Landscape Zone 2 — 5–10 ft from the structure; maintained lawn or fuel breaks, with easily ignited evergreens avoided [Fire Performance Plant Selector landscape zone] (mid-scale rating)
Fire Resisting Garden Plants for the Urban Fringe and Rur…: remove from the Building Protection Zone; avoid in the Fuel Modified Zone [Texas Building Protection Zone] (with its avoid rating)
Guía de pirojardinería: suitable inside or outside the 25-metre maximum-risk zone [girona-2020-iuf-25m-suitability] (with its recommendation)
Firewise Landscaping: Small Shrubs [Travis County Firewise page sections] (with its avoid rating)
Firewise Plant Guide: Shrubs [Sun City plant-table sections] (mid-scale rating)

The evidence

Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself (a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.

Avoids (2)

Fire Resisting Garden Plants for the Urban Fringe and Rural Areas — Tasmania Fire Service (Chladil & Sheridan; photographs Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens) · 2017 · original source Primary evidence Expert-curated lineage: utas-tree

“High Flammability”
Firewise Landscaping (Travis County) — Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Travis County · page modified 2024-01-16 · original source Corroboration Compilation lineage: unknown

“Plants to Avoid for Zone 1 (within 30′ of Structure)”

Listed as Bottlebrush — Callistemon citrinus. The page says Zone 1 entries should be restricted to zones 2 or 3; all-zone entries are highly flammable due to volatile oils or growth habit.

Mid-scale / conditional (2)

Eastern United States Fire Performance Plant Selector — USDA Forest Service Northeastern Area S&PF + state Firewise programs (WV, OH, PA, DE, DC, MD, NJ) · 2016-wayback · original source Primary evidence Keyed curation lineage: ufifas-srs-tree

“MODERATELY Firewise (2)”

Feathery red flowers.
Firewise Plant Guide — Sun City Texas Firewise Group · updated January 14, 2015 · original source Corroboration HOA exhibit lineage: unknown

“medium”

The table rates Bottlebrush, Dwarf — Callistemon citrinus medium for flammability hazard, defined as the ease a plant can burn at high temperatures for a prolonged time.

Listed without a rating (14)

FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database — Dryad / Global Ecology and Biogeography · Dryad version 9 · original source Corroboration Trait database lineage: meta-aggregator

14 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.
- “time to flaming (s): 22.61” · score 22.61 (FLAMITS — time to flaming (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 3822; Ignitability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; device muffle furnace; site Gill1996-1; sampling march to april. Primary study Gill1996: Gill, M., & Moore, P. (1996). Ignitibility of leaves of Australian plants. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, CSIRO Plant Industry.
- “time to flaming (s): 7.46” · score 7.46 (FLAMITS — time to flaming (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 3870; Ignitability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying yes; device muffle furnace; site Gill1996-1; sampling march to april. Primary study Gill1996: Gill, M., & Moore, P. (1996). Ignitibility of leaves of Australian plants. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, CSIRO Plant Industry.
- “time to flaming (s): 15.35” · score 15.35 (FLAMITS — time to flaming (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 14785; Ignitability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; device muffle furnace; site Krix2022-1; sampling . Primary study Krix2022: Krix, D. W., & Murray, B. R. A. (2022). Predictive Model of Leaf Flammability Using Leaf Traits and Radiant Heat Flux for Plants of Fire-Prone Dry Sclerophyll Forest. Forests, 13, 152.
- “time to flaming (s): 9.05” · score 9.05 (FLAMITS — time to flaming (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 14786; Ignitability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; device muffle furnace; site Krix2022-1; sampling . Primary study Krix2022: Krix, D. W., & Murray, B. R. A. (2022). Predictive Model of Leaf Flammability Using Leaf Traits and Radiant Heat Flux for Plants of Fire-Prone Dry Sclerophyll Forest. Forests, 13, 152.
- “time to flaming (s): 5.24” · score 5.24 (FLAMITS — time to flaming (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 14787; Ignitability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; device muffle furnace; site Krix2022-1; sampling . Primary study Krix2022: Krix, D. W., & Murray, B. R. A. (2022). Predictive Model of Leaf Flammability Using Leaf Traits and Radiant Heat Flux for Plants of Fire-Prone Dry Sclerophyll Forest. Forests, 13, 152.
- “time to flaming (s): 3.43” · score 3.43 (FLAMITS — time to flaming (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 14788; Ignitability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; device muffle furnace; site Krix2022-1; sampling . Primary study Krix2022: Krix, D. W., & Murray, B. R. A. (2022). Predictive Model of Leaf Flammability Using Leaf Traits and Radiant Heat Flux for Plants of Fire-Prone Dry Sclerophyll Forest. Forests, 13, 152.
- “burning duration (s): 18.25” · score 18.25 (FLAMITS — burning duration (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 14824; Sustainability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; device muffle furnace; site Krix2022-1; sampling . Primary study Krix2022: Krix, D. W., & Murray, B. R. A. (2022). Predictive Model of Leaf Flammability Using Leaf Traits and Radiant Heat Flux for Plants of Fire-Prone Dry Sclerophyll Forest. Forests, 13, 152.
- “burning duration (s): 16.7” · score 16.7 (FLAMITS — burning duration (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 14825; Sustainability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; device muffle furnace; site Krix2022-1; sampling . Primary study Krix2022: Krix, D. W., & Murray, B. R. A. (2022). Predictive Model of Leaf Flammability Using Leaf Traits and Radiant Heat Flux for Plants of Fire-Prone Dry Sclerophyll Forest. Forests, 13, 152.
- “burning duration (s): 10.79” · score 10.79 (FLAMITS — burning duration (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 14826; Sustainability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; device muffle furnace; site Krix2022-1; sampling . Primary study Krix2022: Krix, D. W., & Murray, B. R. A. (2022). Predictive Model of Leaf Flammability Using Leaf Traits and Radiant Heat Flux for Plants of Fire-Prone Dry Sclerophyll Forest. Forests, 13, 152.
- “burning duration (s): 9.23” · score 9.23 (FLAMITS — burning duration (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 14827; Sustainability measurement; plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; device muffle furnace; site Krix2022-1; sampling . Primary study Krix2022: Krix, D. W., & Murray, B. R. A. (2022). Predictive Model of Leaf Flammability Using Leaf Traits and Radiant Heat Flux for Plants of Fire-Prone Dry Sclerophyll Forest. Forests, 13, 152.
- “time to flaming (s): 1” · score 1 (FLAMITS — time to flaming (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 19345; Ignitability measurement; plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Murray2023-1; sampling ND. Primary study Murray2023: Murray, B. R., Hawthorne, T., Curran, T. J., Krix, D. W., Wallace, M. I., Young, K., ... & Webb, J. K. (2023). Shoot flammability patterns among plant species of the wildlandurban interface in the fire-prone Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. International Journal of Wildland Fire, Online early.
- “burning duration (s): 35.8” · score 35.8 (FLAMITS — burning duration (s))
  
  FLAMITS record 19346; Sustainability measurement; plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Murray2023-1; sampling ND. Primary study Murray2023: Murray, B. R., Hawthorne, T., Curran, T. J., Krix, D. W., Wallace, M. I., Young, K., ... & Webb, J. K. (2023). Shoot flammability patterns among plant species of the wildlandurban interface in the fire-prone Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. International Journal of Wildland Fire, Online early.
- “maximum flame temperature (°C): 596.2” · score 596.2 (FLAMITS — maximum flame temperature (°C))
  
  FLAMITS record 19347; Combustibility measurement; plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Murray2023-1; sampling ND. Primary study Murray2023: Murray, B. R., Hawthorne, T., Curran, T. J., Krix, D. W., Wallace, M. I., Young, K., ... & Webb, J. K. (2023). Shoot flammability patterns among plant species of the wildlandurban interface in the fire-prone Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. International Journal of Wildland Fire, Online early.
- “estimated burnt biomass (%): 72.7” · score 72.7 (FLAMITS — estimated burnt biomass (%))
  
  FLAMITS record 19348; Consumability measurement; plant part branches; fuel all; predrying yes; device grill; site Murray2023-1; sampling ND. Primary study Murray2023: Murray, B. R., Hawthorne, T., Curran, T. J., Krix, D. W., Wallace, M. I., Young, K., ... & Webb, J. K. (2023). Shoot flammability patterns among plant species of the wildlandurban interface in the fire-prone Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. International Journal of Wildland Fire, Online early.

Fire-resistant shrubs instead

Pomegranate
Punica granatum

Elderberry
Sambucus canadensis

Chastetree
Vitex agnus-castus

High bush blueberry
Vaccinium corymbosum

American beautyberry
Callicarpa americana

Common witchhazel
Hamamelis virginiana

Fire-resistant shrubs listed above

Last verified 2026-08-23. JSON (CC BY 4.0)

Profiles: USDA PLANTS · GBIF · iNaturalist · Wikidata · ITIS

Callistemon citrinus (Bottlebrush). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/callistemon-citrinus/. Last verified 2026-08-23.