Drooping she-oak facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Drooping she-oak
Scientific classification
Genus:	Allocasuarina
Species:	verticillata
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms
Casuarina verticillata Lam. Casuarina stricta Aiton

The Allocasuarina verticillata, often called the drooping she-oak or drooping sheoak, is a special native tree found in southeastern Australia. It's known for its ability to help the soil by fixing nitrogen.

This tree was first found in Tasmania. A French scientist named Jean-Baptiste Lamarck described it in 1786. Later, in 1982, an Australian botanist named Lawrie Johnson moved it to its current group, Allocasuarina.

In the past, people called this tree by many names like "Shingle Oak" or "Coast She-oak." The Indigenous people of the Richmond and Clarence River areas in New South Wales called it "Worgnal." People also found a clever use for it: if they were very thirsty, chewing the leaves could help them produce saliva because the leaves are a bit acidic. Children even used to chew the young cones, calling them "oak apples."

The drooping she-oak usually grows as a small tree. It has a rounded shape and can reach heights of 4 to 10 metres (about 12 to 35 feet).

You can find this tree in several parts of Australia, including the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria.

A special bird, the Glossy Black Cockatoo, loves to eat the cones of the drooping she-oak on Kangaroo Island. The cockatoo holds the cone with its foot, breaks it open with its strong beak, and then uses its tongue to get the seeds out.

What Does It Look Like?

The drooping she-oak is a tree that can grow from 4 to 10 metres tall. It has bark that looks cracked and branches that hang down, giving it its "drooping" name.

Branches and Leaves

The long, thin branches can be up to 40 centimetres long. What look like leaves are actually tiny "teeth" at the end of the branch sections. There are usually 9 to 13 of these teeth, and they are about 1 millimetre long.

Flowers and Cones

The drooping she-oak has separate male and female flowers on different trees.

• Male flowers grow in spikes that are 3 to 12 centimetres long.
• Female flowers are often found on older branches closer to the tree's centre. Each female flower has a small part that will become a seed and two red parts called styles. These red styles make the whole flower cluster look red.

After the female flowers are pollinated, the whole structure turns woody and grows into a cone. These cones are shaped like cylinders or barrels. They are usually 20 to 50 millimetres long and 17 to 30 millimetres wide. The seeds inside are dark brown and have wings, helping them fly away when released. This tree flowers all year round.

Images for kids

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  The woody branchlets of the Allocasuarina verticillata

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  The stems or internodes of Allocasuarina verticilllata

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  The female inflorescence and early stages of cone development

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  The cones of various shapes and sizes

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  Emerging internodes, broader at the end near teeth

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  The female inflorescence, showing multiple red styles