Black sheoak facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Black sheoak |
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| Allocasuarina littoralis. By Edward Minchen. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Allocasuarina
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| Species: |
littoralis
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
| Synonyms | |
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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.
Description
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 female flowers appear in spring. It is usually dioecious.
Range
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.
