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Calothamnus affinis

Species of flowering plant

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Source updated May 21, 2026

Calothamnus affinis is a plant in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, compact, or spreading shrub that produces red to purple flowers in spring.

01Description

Calothamnus affinis is a compact shrub growing to a height of about 2.0 metres (7 ft) with pale green, cylindrical leaves with their end tapering to a point. The flowers have 5 sepals, 5 petals and stamens joined to form 5 claw-like bundles.

02Distribution and habitat

Calothamnus affinis occurs in the far south of Western Australia in the Stirling Range district in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains and Jarrah Forest biogeographic regions. It grows in sandy soils and laterite.

03Taxonomy and naming

Calothamnus affinis was first formally described in 1852 by Nikolai Turczaninow. The specific epithet (affinis) means "allied to" or "akin to", and refers to the similarity of this species to Calothamnus gracilis.

In 2014 Craven, Edwards and Cowley proposed that the species be renamed Melaleuca relativa but the name is not accepted by the Australian Plant Census.

04Conservation

This species is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.

Watch videos about Calothamnus affinisExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Calothamnus affinis”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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