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There are about 25 to 30 species of Callistemon. They often have flaky bark on their trunk and pendulous branches carrying droopy leaves with a strong 'tea-tree' smell crushed. But of course the most distinctive feature is the strikingly beautiful 'bottlebrush' flowers. This is a collection of many flowers, with the colour being provided by hundred of stamens, the petals being barely noticeable. The flowers are mostly red, and look similar to Melaleuca flowers, of which these plants are very closely related. All of the Callistemon are found in Australia.

Bottlebrush
Flowers of a bottlebrush
 
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Study Tours

  • Ecosystem Guide Books

    Accompanying our biology programmes and tours are the Ecosystem Guide Books. The first in the series, "Rainforest of tropical Australia", has been released. It is available in all good bookstores in Cairns and in souvenir shops and info centres throughout the rainforest areas of North Queensland. If they haven't got it, ask them to order it in! It's RRP is $35.

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Plants

Fungi
Fungi actually belong to a completely different kingdom from the animals and the plants and are not particularly related to either. There are thought to be about 250,000 species of fungi in Australia, and thus they far outnumber the regular vascular plants but most of these species are too small to be noticed.
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Birds

Boobies and Gannets
Boobie and baby
Boobie and baby
Boobies and Gannets are rather large, robust seabirds. They have big heads, strong beaks and look a little bit like a large, ocean going duck. Their feet are big and fully webbed. Their walk is a cute, duck-like waddle. When flying, their body is often described as ‘torpedo’ or ‘cigar’ shaped. The 9 species are found all over the world. While Boobies are more tropical in distribution, Gannets inhabit the colder, temperate seas. They are essentially an ocean going bird, and are only really found on land when nesting. They were given the derogatory name of ‘Booby’ from the Spanish word bobo which means fool or clown. They may plunge dive for prey from heights of up to 20 or 30 metres, with heights of 100 metres reported. Their nostrils are small and not externally visible and close to prevent seawater entering the nostrils when hitting the surface at high speeds. The air sacs under their skin are particularly well developed in the frontal region of the body and likely serve to cushion the body during their steep dives.
 

Mammals

Fruit Bats and Flying Fox
The latter group includes the old world flying foxes and is quite different from the 'micro-bats' Like the 'insect bats', these animals usually roost communally, hanging upside down. Unlike their smaller relatives, however, they tend not to sleep in dark places, but roost hanging off trees.
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