Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Allocasuarina nana

Male flowers. Photographer John Tann, Morton National Park

Female flowers and mature cones on stems. Photographer Don Wood, Coolumbooka nature Reserve near Bombala

Cones on stems. Photographer Tony Rodd, Blue Mountains

Shrubs. Australian Plant Imge Index, photographer S Douglas, Wadbilliga National Park

Common name

Dwarf she-oak, Stunted she-oak

Family

Casuarinaceae

Where found

Heath on exposed ridges. Coast, ranges, and tablelands.

Notes

Low spreading shrub to 2 m high. Bark smooth to finely fissured. Branchlets pointing up, to 8 cm long. Articles often somewhat waxy, 5–6 mm long, 0.5–0.8 mm in diameter, ridges very slightly rounded-convex to flat. Leaves very small, forming whorls of teeth on the branchlets. Teeth 4-6, erect, appressed, not overlapping, not withering. Male and female flowers usually on the same plant or occasionally on different plants. Male flowers brown, in spikes, female flowers red, in tight clusters, appearing single. Male spikes very dense, 5–10 mm long, 16–20 whorls per cm. Cone body 14–24 mm long, 10–15 mm in diameter, bracteoles thickly woody and convex, scarcely protruding beyond the cone body. Mature 'seeds' 4–6 mm long, red-brown to black, shining, with one wing.

Rare Vic.

Genowlan Point Allocasuarina nana Heathland is an Endangered Ecological Community in NSW. 

Threatened community profile NSW:   https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedspeciesapp/profile.aspx?id=10344 (accessed 3 January, 2021)

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Allocasuarina~nana  (accessed 3 January, 2021)