Allocasuarina torulosa

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Eudicots > Rosids  > Fagales > Casuarinaceae > Allocasuarina  torulosa

Other links:     

Plant  information

Common name:               Rose She-oak 

• Also, forest oak

Conservation status:   . . .

Etymology:   

Flowers:                  

Fruit:                         

• The tree produces warty cones 15-33 millimeters long and 15-15 mm in diameter

• It grows from seed, and cut or broken trees will often regenerate from the trunk

• The seeds have been found to be a food source for the Yellow-tailed black cockatoo

Leaves:         

•  It appears to have needle-like leaves, but these are actually twigs

• The real leaves are actually in the joint of the needles and appear in whorls of four

• These needles have a weeping, pendulous appearance, and turn reddish-brown in the winter

Stem & branches:    

•  Its bark is thick and corky

Roots:         

Habit:        

• It is an evergreen tree that typically reaches 12-18 m tall and 4.5-7.5 m wide

Habitat:   

• A tree which grows in sub-rainforest (just outside the main forest area) 

• It is typically found on coastal footslopes, hills, and plains

Distribution:                  

• Queensland and NSW

Additional notes:     

• It may be susceptible to Armillaria and Phytophthora

• Taxonomy

  • Originally described as Casuarina torulosa by William Aiton, it was moved to its current genus in 1982 by Australian botanist Lawrie Johnson

  • It is the type species of the genus Allocasuarina

• Use

  • The timber is reddish pink to brown

  • It is prized by woodworkers and woodturners as a rare and exotic timber, often used in wood turnings, knife handles and other specialist items

  • The rose she-oak has the largest contraction along the grain (12%) of any Australian wood and needs to be dried carefully to get full value as a useful timber

  • This is a low-maintenance tree that will grow in a variety of soils and tolerate light frosts

  • In the US, it is suitable for USDA hardiness zones 8–11

Sources of information:

• (2023)