bottlebrush, noun

Origin:
EnglishShow more Transferred use of general English bottlebrush a name applied to various plants and flowers.
Any of several shrubs or trees of the Greyiaceae and Proteaceae, bearing brush-like flowers. Usually with a distinguishing epithet:
mountain bottlebrush, (a) Natal bottlebrush; (b) the winter-flowering shrub Greyia flanaganii of the Greyiaceae;
Natal bottlebrush, the ornamental shrub or small tree Greyia sutherlandii of the Greyiaceae;
red bottlebrush, the colourful low shrub Mimetes cucullatus of the Proteaceae;
silver-leaved bottlebrush rare, the shrub M. argenteus of the Proteaceae;
Transvaal bottlebrush, the gnarled shrub Greyia radlkoferi of the Greyiaceae.
Note:
Greyia flanaganii is also occasionally called Flanagan’s bottlebrush or kei bottlebrush.
1951 S. Eliovson Flowering Shrubs & Trees 86Greyia sutherlandii, Mountain bottlebrush. This semi-deciduous shrub is most suitable for the rockery, for it comes from the mountain slopes of South Africa, particularly Natal.
1972 S. Afr. Panorama Jan. 21 (caption)Mountain Bottle Brush near the Shelf.
1972 Evening Post 11 Mar. 6The mountain bottlebrush (Greyia flanaganii) flowers in winter.
1907 J.M. Wood Handbk to Flora of Natal 33Greyia Sutherlandi is a handsome flowering tree of the upper districts, and is sometimes known as the ‘Natal Bottle Brush’.
1917 R. Marloth Dict. of Common Names of Plants 15Bottle-brush, (Na), Greyia Sutherlandii.
1951 N.L. King Tree-Planting 68Greyia sutherlandi (Natal bottle brush), A shrub or small tree with brilliant red flowers. Occurs on kranses and rocky ground in the high rainfall belt of Natal and eastern Transvaal at an altitude of 3,500 feet or more.
c1968 S. Candy Natal Coast Gardening 53Greyia sutherlandi, ‘Mountain Bottlebrush’. ‘Natal Bottlebrush’. A small native tree flowering in summer.
1970 M.R. Levyns in Std Encycl. of Sn Afr. II. 464Bottle-brush,..(Greyia sutherlandii.) Shrub or small tree of the family Melianthaceae, having a pale bark and large, broad, simple leaves, cordate at the base and with a toothed margin. The bright scarlet flowers are produced about June and are borne in dense racemes.
1972 Evening Post 11 Mar. 6Another indigenous shrub is the Greyia sutherlandii or Natal bottlebrush.
1983 K.C. Palgrave Trees of Sn Afr. 548Greyia sutherlandii,..Natal bottlebrush.
1972 Evening Post 11 Mar. 6Another indigenous shrub with red flowers is the Greyia sutherlandi or Natal bottlebrush. It has an interesting, rather gnarled growth habit and bears red flowers in early spring.
1991 Ornamental Trees & Shrubs of Afr. (calendar)Natal Bottlebrush, Greyia sutherlandii has been grown in Europe for more than a century but is less familiar to South African gardeners.
1991 Light Yrs Vol.2 No.3, 8The Natal bottlebrush flames against the lush green of the hills.
1970 M.R. Levyns in Std Encycl. of Sn Afr. II. 464Bottle-brush, Red. Colourful, low shrub,..common on lower mountain slopes in the south-west portion of the Cape Province...The flowers are regular and consist of four whitish perianth lobes, each with an anther at its apex. The stiff red styles are exposed as the flowers open.
1973 Beeton & Dorner in Eng. Usage in Sn Afr. Vol.4 No.2, 39Red bottle-brush,..(Mimetes lyrigera)..low shrub of the Proteaceae, found on the lower mountain slopes on the s-wst Cape Province.
1987 T.F.J. Van Rensburg Intro. to Fynbos 17Other smaller shrubs in the mountain fynbos are bottlebrushes (Mimetes) [etc.].
1973 M.R. Levyns in Std Encycl. of Sn Afr. IX. 160Rare species of Mimetes are..M. argentia (the ‘silver-leaved bottlebrush’) [etc.].
1977 E. Palmer Field Guide to Trees of Sn Afr. 205Transvaal bottlebrush, G. radlkoferi..; often confused with G. sutherlandii but leaves densely felted below, especially when young.
1984 J. Onderstall Tvl Lowveld & Escarpment 128Greyia radlkoferi, Transvaal Bottlebrush...As rugged as its rocky, mountain environs, it is often gnarled and crooked, with very rough bark.
Any of several shrubs or trees of the Greyiaceae and Proteaceae, bearing brush-like flowers. Usually with a distinguishing epithet:
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