Woolly oak facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Allocasuarina inophloia |
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Allocasuarina
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| Species: |
inophloia
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
The Allocasuarina inophloia, often called the woolly oak or stringybark she-oak, is a special kind of shrub or small tree. It belongs to the she-oak family, called Casuarinaceae. You can find it only in the inland parts of New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. One of the coolest things about this plant is its unique, hairy bark!
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What is the Woolly Oak?
The woolly oak, or Allocasuarina inophloia, grows as a small tree. It usually reaches a height of about 3 to 10 meters (10 to 33 feet). These trees are dioecious, which means that individual plants are either male or female.
How Do She-Oaks Look?
Like all she-oaks, the woolly oak doesn't have typical flat leaves. Instead, its "foliage" is made of many tiny, jointed branches. These small segments are called articles. The actual leaves are very tiny scales found between these segments.
Where Does the Woolly Oak Grow?
This interesting plant lives in specific areas of Australia. In New South Wales, you can find it in places like the Clarence River valley, Emmaville, and Yetman. Its range extends south to Waralda. In Queensland, it grows north up to Herberton.
What Kind of Places Does It Like?
The woolly oak prefers to grow in woodlands. It likes to live on ridges made of sandstone, ironstone, or laterite. You might find it growing alongside other plants like grasstrees (from the Xanthorrhoea group) and different types of eucalypts. One common eucalypt it grows with is the drooping ironbark (Eucalyptus caleyi).
Northwest of Glen Innes, it grows in tall scrub areas. Here, the soil is granitic, and it shares its home with other she-oak species like Allocasuarina brachystachya. You might also see wattle species such as Acacia williamsiana and the special Severn River heath-myrtle (Micromyrtus grandis). Smaller shrubs like Leucopogon neo-anglicus and fringe myrtle (Calytrix tetragona) grow beneath them.
Other Plant Friends
The woolly oak has also been noted as a "host plant" for the orange mistletoe (Dendrophthoe glabrescens). This means the mistletoe grows on the woolly oak, getting some of its water and nutrients from it.
Growing Woolly Oak in Gardens
People sometimes like to grow the woolly oak in gardens. Its unique, shaggy bark makes it a very interesting plant to look at. It's also quite tough! It can handle cold frost and can even grow in poor soils, which makes it a good choice for many different garden conditions.
Images for kids
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Bark
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Occurrence data from AVH
