Calothamnus robustus

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Calothamnus robustus is an erect shrub in the myrtle family, native to the southwest of Western Australia. It grows about 0.5–1.5 meters tall, with cylindrical, non-prickly leaves. In spring it produces clusters of red flowers (usually 3–5 flowers per cluster), followed by woody fruit capsules with two thickened lobes. The flowers have four hairy sepals on the outer surface, four petals, and stamens arranged in four narrow, claw-like bundles of roughly equal length. Flowering mainly occurs from September to November. The plant is not covered by corky bark around the flowers or fruit, unlike some related species. Calothamnus robustus was first described by Johannes Schauer in 1843 from a specimen collected near Cape Riche, in the foothills of Mount Melville. The name robustus means "hard and strong like oak." It occurs near Albany in rocky soils derived from quartzite or granite in the Esperance Plains region. Its conservation status is Priority Three—Poorly Known Taxa (DEC) in Western Australia, meaning it is poorly known and found in only a few places but not currently at imminent risk.