Allocasuarina verticillata

Drooping Sheoak at Googong, NSW

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Identification history

Allocasuarina verticillata	7 Mar 2018	MichaelMulvaney
Allocasuarina verticillata	5 Mar 2018	BettyDonWood
Casuarina cunninghamiana subsp. cunninghamiana	5 Mar 2018	alexwatt

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User's notes

This is the only casuarina growing in the valley that i can see.

7 comments

BettyDonWood wrote:

5 Mar 2018

Probably. I presume the cones in the photo are more than life size (Plantnet says 7-14 mm long). The branchlets are not in good enough focus for me to count the teeth (8-10 per joint).

alexwatt wrote:

6 Mar 2018

The cones were about 5cm long. The tree isn't very large but it's stuck underneath a large apple box. It could be exotic to the area as its beside the road ?

BettyDonWood wrote:

6 Mar 2018

I am not absolutely sure it is Casuarina rather than Allocasuarina, though the shape of the valves of the cones suggest Casuarina.
Casuarina seeds are grey or yellow-brown. Allocasuarina seeds are shiny and red-brown to black. The seeds drop out as the cones dry.
https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/key/2180

alexwatt wrote:

6 Mar 2018

I have added another photo which i think s.hows the branchlets a little better. As for the seeds, i can go back and check in a few weeks.

BettyDonWood wrote:

6 Mar 2018

I counted four teeth on one side when I blew the new photo up, which is the right number for Casuarina cunninghamiana.
Cones may stay on the tree for years. The easiest way to see the seeds is to collect a cone and put it in a paper bag so you do not lose the seeds when it opens. This will almost certainly require a permit from your local council.

Mike wrote:

6 Mar 2018

With cones 5cm long it is probably Allocasuarina verticillata.

BettyDonWood wrote:

6 Mar 2018

Thanks Mike. Allocasuarina verticillara has 9-13 teeth per joint, so that is OK. Also the plant shape fits that species much better that Casuarina cunninghamiana. However the cone bracts look too coarse. The casuarinas are stinkers to ID, even in the hand.

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