Allocasuarina verticillata

Drooping She-oak

Family:            Casuarinaceae

Plant:              A small tree up to 10m high with ribbed drooping foliage, dark fissured bark and a rounded crown. .

Flowers:         The male and female flowers are on separate plants. The male flowers are tiny, rusty reddish-brown and in terminal spikes, 5-10cm long. The female flowers are in ovoid heads on short lateral branchlets, their red styles are obvious.

Flowering:      July-August.

Fruit:               Egg-shaped, spiky cone 2-3cm diameter and 2-4cm long.

Leaves:          Leaves reduced to 9-13 leaf-teeth. The branchlets are 1-2mm diameter

Habitat:           Along coastline, on rocky exposed cliffs and on shale soils.

Features:       Growing on sea cliffs. 9-13 leaf teeth. Spiky egg-shaped cone.

                        Note: Easily confused with A. glauca but A. verticillata has larger cones and less teeth in a whorl.           

Name:

Allocasuarina

                        From Greek allos = different plus the Malay word Kasuari referring to the leaves that suggest the drooping feathers of the Cassowary.

verticillata      From Latin verticullis = a whirl of a spindle and atus = like (referring to its whorled leaf teeth).

Search Criteria

 

Type

Shrub, Tree

Flowers

Form

Irregular, Cluster, Spike

 

Colour(s)

Red, Rust

 

Petal/Sepal No.

Many

 

Flowering Month

7, 8

Fruit

Type       

Cone

 

Colour

Brown, Black

 

Other Features

Woody, Hard

Leaves

Arrangement

Leaves

 

 

reduced/Absent

 

Type       

-

 

Shape

-

 

Length    

Tiny

 

Margins  

-

 

Attachment

-

 

Other Features

-

Bark

Rough/Furrowed

Habitat    

Dry sclerophyll forest, Heathland