Casuarina cunninghamiana
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| Casuarina cunninghamiana tree in flower.. | |
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| Species: | C. cunninghamiana
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| Casuarina cunninghamiana | |
Casuarina cunninghamiana is a she-oak species of the genus Casuarina. The native range in Australia extends from Daly River in the Northern Territory, north and east in Queensland and eastern New South Wales.[1][2]
Description
The River Oak is an attractive evergreen tree with fine greyish green needle-like foliage that grows to a height of 10–35 m (33–115 ft) with a spread of about 10 metres (33 ft).[1][3] The trunk is usually erect, with dense rough bark. Flowers are reddish-brown in the male and red in the female.[1] Cones are small, nearly round to elongated and about 10 millimetres (0.39 in) across.[1]
Trees are usually found in sunny locations along stream banks and swampy areas.[1] It's widely recognised as an important tree for stabilising riverbanks and for soil erosion prevention accepting wet and dry soils. The foliage is quite palatable to stock.[2] C. cunninghamiana is frost tolerant down to around −8 °C (18 °F) and is widely used effectively as a screening plant. It is useful on windy sites and is also suited to coastal areas. C. cunninghamiana has been introduced into several other countries for the purpose of agroforestry.[3]
There are two subspecies:
- C. cunninghamiana subsp. cunninghamiana. Large tree to 35 m (115 ft) tall. Eastern New South Wales, north and east Queensland.[1][3]
- C. cunninghamiana subsp. miodon. Small tree to 12 m (39 ft) tall. Daly River and Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory and the Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland.[1][3]
The species has many common names including River Oak, River She-oak or Creek Oak.[2]
Invasive species
Casuarina cunninghamiana is an invasive species in the Everglades in Florida[4] and in South Africa.[5]
References
- “Australian Native Plants” by John W. Wrigley and Murray Fagg, 4th edition, Reed, 1997
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g Boxshall, Ben; Jenkyn, Tim. "River she-oak" (PDF). Department of Primary Industries. Victorian Government. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ a b c Boland, D. J.; Brooker, M. I. H.; Chippendale, G. M.; McDonald, M. W. (2006). Forest trees of Australia (5th ed.). Collingwood, Vic.: CSIRO Publishing. p. 80. ISBN 0-643-06969-0.
- ^ a b c d "Casuarina cunninghamiana". Florabank. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ "Biological control of Australian native Casuarina species in the USA". Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. 16 May 2007. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "SANBI:Declared Weeds & Invader Plants". South African National Biodiversity Institute. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
External links
