Red Bottlebrush Tree Is A Show Stopper

By Phran Novelli

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - "What is that?" is one thing you hear a lot at the Flower Show, and this year that question is often directed at one particular kind of tree that is quite amazing to see.

Native to Australia, and grown only in warm climates, the Red Bottlebrush tree, (Latin name, Callistemon citrinus, pronounced 'kal-liss-STEE-mawn sih-TRY-nus') is a smallish evergreen that has narrow little leaves and stunningly big bottlebrush blooms with thousands of little red filaments that catch the light. The flowers are so full and so red and so unusual that, at first glance, it's hard to believe they're real.

But in a one-week floral spectacular that uses the magic of movies as its inspiration, show-stopping flowers like these and all the others, are proof-positive that no matter how captivated and spoiled we may be by digital design, stage sets, and Hollywood hijinks, nothing can ever quite match the constantly-changing, floral-scented, 3-D extravaganza that goes on all over the world every day of the year, courtesy of Mother Nature.