Allocasuarina littoralis

Allocasuarina littoralis
Allocasuarina littoralis. By Edward Minchen.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Fagales
Family:	Casuarinaceae
Genus:	Allocasuarina
Species:	A. littoralis
Binomial name
Allocasuarina littoralis (Salisb.) L.A.S.Johnson

Allocasuarina littoralis, commonly known as black sheoak, black she-oak, or river black-oak, is an endemic medium-sized Australian tree (usually up to 8 metres, but sometimes to 15 metres - coarse shrub in exposed maritime areas). A. littoralis is named for its growth near the coast; this is somewhat misleading, as it will grow well both inland and in coastal zones.

This evergreen Casaurina tree is noted for its modified branchlets appearing to be leaves (5–8 cm long) and narrow width (no more than 4 mm) and the true leaves are, in fact minute (rarely larger than 1mm) and occur on the tips of the modified branchlets. It is a relatively fast growing tree (up to 800mm. a year) making it very suitable for planting along roadsides. The showy red flowers appear in spring.

The species occurs in Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, and Tasmania. It grows in woodland and sometimes in tall heath, and it grows in sandy and other poor soils.

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