bottlebrush

American  

[bot-l-bruhsh] / ˈbɒt lˌbrʌʃ /

noun

Botany.

1. any of various trees or shrubs of the myrtle family, especially of the genera Callistemon and Melaleuca, native to Australia and adjacent areas, having spikes of flowers with numerous conspicuous stamens.

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bottlebrush British  

/ ˈbɒtəlˌbrʌʃ /

noun

1. a cylindrical brush on a thin shaft, used for cleaning bottles

2. Also called: callistemon.  any of various Australian myrtaceous shrubs or trees of the genera Callistemon and Melaleuca , having dense spikes of large red flowers with protruding brushlike stamens

3. any of various similar trees or shrubs

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Etymology

Origin of bottlebrush

1705–15; bottle ¹ + brush ¹; so called from the resemblance of the flower spike to a brush used for cleaning bottles, with bristles on all sides of a central stem

Example Sentences

That is, until Cai's team, led by Ph.D. student Baiqiang Huang, proved otherwise with their new "foldable bottlebrush polymer networks."

From Science Daily • Nov. 27, 2024

Then they added bottlebrush trees, animal figurines and little log cabins.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 8, 2023

These roots look like bottlebrush and are formed only when the level of phosphorus in the soil is low.

From Salon • Feb. 23, 2023

California wild grapevines will eventually grow along the rebar awning, and colorful dwarf bottlebrush will fill in to create a more formal low hedge.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2015

They had only gone a few paces when Hermione’s bandy-legged ginger cat, Crookshanks, came pelting out of the garden, bottlebrush tail held high in the air, chasing what looked like a muddy potato on legs.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling