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Family: Casuarinaceae Common Names: Australian pine, horsetail
casuarina, she-oak, horsetail tree
Australian pine is a large (100-150 ft) vase-shaped tree with wispy
grey-green twigs reminiscent of pine needles. The stout trunk is
covered with thick pebbly-textured brownish-grey bark. The tree is
supported by a dense, spreading, fibrous root system. The male
flowers are borne in slender cylindrical spikes at the twig tips.
The tiny brownish-red female flowers grow in heads attached to the
branchlets and are followed by 1/2 in-diameter pinecone-like fruits
containing 70-90 winged tusually goes through two major blooming and
fruiting cycles each year
Australian pine often grows 5-10 ft per year and has been known to
reach 30 ft in two years.
Australian pine is native from Southeast Asia to northern Australia
and the Pacific.They prefers sandy soils.Since this species forms
symbiotic nitrogen-fixing associations with soil microbes, it can
grow on nearly sterile sands.Propagation: Trees begin producing seed
when they are only 3-5 years old. Mature specimens yield prodigious
quantities of seed, of which 30-80 percent can be expected to
germinate 4-8 days after planting. Seeds usually remain viable for
only a few months.The winged seeds are usually wind-dispersed, but
the "cones" float and can be transported by water.
Australian pine is extremely salt-resistant. It may also be trimmed
into a hedge or dwarfed in the greenhouse as a bonsai tree. A
decoction from the astringent bark has been used as a remedy for
diarrhea, beri-beri, sore throat, cough, headache, toothache, sores,
and swellings. |
