Casuarina
Casuarina equisetifolia stems and leaves
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fagales Family: Casuarinaceae Genus: Casuarina L.
Selected species
Casuarina cunninghamiana Casuarina equisetifolia Casuarina glauca Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1200 × 1600 pixel, file size: 409 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Close-up of branches/leaves of Casuarina equisetifolia taken in Hawaii by Eric Guinther uploaded as http://en. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta—liverworts Anthocerotophyta—hornworts Bryophyta—mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta—rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta—zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta—clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta—trimerophytes Pteridophyta—ferns and horsetails Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta—seed ferns Pinophyta—conifers Cycadophyta—cycads Ginkgophyta—ginkgo Gnetophyta—gnetae Magnoliophyta—flowering plants... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are the dominant and most familiar group of land plants. ... Magnoliopsida is the botanical name for a class: this name is formed by replacing the termination -aceae in the name Magnoliaceae by the termination -opsida (Art 16 of the ICBN). ... Families included in the Kew list: Fagaceae - Beech family   (including Nothofagaceae) Betulaceae - Birch family Corylaceae - Hazel family Ticodendraceae not included in the Kew list: Casuarinaceae - She-oak family Juglandaceae - Walnut family Rhoipteleaceae Myricaceae The Fagales are an order of flowering plants, including some of the best known trees. ... Genera Allocasuarina Casuarina Gymnostoma Casuarinaceae is a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants placed in the order Fagales, consisting of 3 or 4 genera and approximately 70 species of trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics (Indo-Malaysia), Australia, and the Pacific islands. ... Carl Linnaeus, Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707[1] – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[2] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ...

Casuarina is a genus of shrubs and trees in the Family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia and islands of the Pacific. Once it was the sole genus in the family, but has been split into three genera (see Casuarinaceae), a proposal that is not universally accepted. For other uses of the word, please see Genus (disambiguation). ... A broom shrub in flower A shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 6 m tall. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth. ... Genera Allocasuarina Casuarina Gymnostoma Casuarinaceae is a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants placed in the order Fagales, consisting of 3 or 4 genera and approximately 70 species of trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics (Indo-Malaysia), Australia, and the Pacific islands. ... The Pacific Ocean (from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, peaceful sea, bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan) is the largest of the Earths oceanic subdivisions. ... Genera Allocasuarina Casuarina Gymnostoma Casuarinaceae is a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants placed in the order Fagales, consisting of 3 or 4 genera and approximately 70 species of trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics (Indo-Malaysia), Australia, and the Pacific islands. ...

Fruit of C. equisetifolia

Commonly known as the she-oak (sometimes sheoak), beefwood, or Australian pine, casuarinas are common in tropical and subtropical areas. The tree has delicate, slender ultimate branches and leaves that are no more than scales, making the tree look more like a wispy conifer. The plants do especially well in wind-swept locations, and are widely planted as wind-breaks, although usually not in agricultural situations. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 393 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Fruits of Casuarina equisetifolia, photographed in Hawaii by Eric Guinther uploaded as http://en. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 393 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Fruits of Casuarina equisetifolia, photographed in Hawaii by Eric Guinther uploaded as http://en. ... Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ...

Plants of some species (C. cunninghamiana, C. equisetifolia, C. glauca) of the genus were introduced to parts of the USA in the early 1900s, but are now considered invasive species in these areas. // Public flight demonstration of an airplane by Alberto Santos-Dumont in Paris, November 12, 1906. ... Lantana invasion of abandoned citrus plantation; Moshav Sdey Hemed, Israel The term invasive species refers to a subset of introduced species or non-indigenous species that are rapidly expanding outside of their native range. ...

Casuarina species are a food source of the larvae of hepialid moths: Members of the genus Aenetus, including A. lewinii and A. splendens, burrow horizontally into the trunk then vertically down. Endoclita malabaricus also feeds on Casuarina. A larval insect A larva (Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians). ... genera Abantiades Aenetus Afrotheora Andeabatis Antihepialus Aoraia Aplatissa Bipectilis Blanchardina Bordaia Calada Callipielus Cibyra Cladoxycanus Dalaca Dioxycanus Druceiella Dumbletonius Elhamma Endoclyta Eudalaca Fraus Gazoryctra Gorgopis Heloxycanus Hepialiscus Hepialus Jeana Korscheltellus Leto Metahepialus Napialus Neohepialus Oncopera Oxycanus Palpifer Parahepialiscus Pfitzneriana Pfitzneriella Pharmacis Phassodes Phassus Phialuse Phymatopus Puermytrans Roseala Schausiana Sthenopis Thitarodes... A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly. ... Aenetus is a genus of moths of the family Hepialidae. ... Endoclita is a genus of moths of the family Hepialidae. ...

The noctuid Turnip Moth is also recorded feeding on Casuarina. Diversity 4,200 genera 35,000 species Type Species Noctua pronuba (Large Yellow Underwing) Subfamilies Acontiinae Acronictinae Aganainae Agaristinae Amphipyrinae Amphipyrinae Bagisarinae Bryophilinae Calpinae Catocalinae Cocytiinae Condicinae Cuculliinae Dilobinae Eucocytiinae Eustrotiinae Euteliinae Glottulinae Hadeninae Heliothinae Herminiinae Hypeninae Ipimorphinae Noctuinae Plusiinae Psaphidinae Raphiinae Stictopterinae Stiriinae Strepsimaninae Ufeinae The Noctuidae or Owlets... Binomial name Agrotis segetum Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775 The Turnip Moth (Agrotis segetum) is a moth of the family Noctuidae. ...

The gum exuded from some casuarinas is edible and was a food source for Aboriginal people.

Species accounts

• Casuarina equisetifolia L. is a common tropical seashore tree known as Common Ironwood, Beefwood, Bull-oak, or Whistling-pine and is often planted as a windbreak. The wood of this tree is used for shingles, fencing, and is said to make excellent, hot burning, firewood.

C. equisetifolia is widespread in the Hawaiian Islands where it is an introduced species, growing both at the seashore in dry, salty, calcareous soils and up in the mountains in high rainfall areas on volcanic soils. The plants are strongly suspected of having alleopathic properties, as evidenced by the near absence of understory once a mat of litter develops around the plants.

• Casuarina oligodon L. is a native tree of New Guinea that is planted in an ancient (more than 3,000 years) silviculture by highland gardeners practicing an intensive traditional permaculture. The wood of this tree is used for building-timber, furniture and tools and is said to make excellent firewood. The tree's root nodules are known to fix nitrogen, and it is traditionally prized for its ability to increase the soil's fertility. Its abundant leaf-fall is high in nitrogen and traditionally prized for mulch.

• Casuarina cunninghamiana (River Sheoak) is an introduced species in several countries, including Argentina, China, Egypt, Israel,Iraq, Kenya, South Africa and the southern United States [1]; in the United States it is now considered an invasive species [2]. The species has nearly quadrupled in southern Florida over the last decade, as can be noted by IFAS's SRFer Mapserver.

The images below were photographed in Israel. Map of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of islands that stretches 2,400 km in a northwesterly direction from the southern tip of the Island of Hawai‘i. ... Casuarina equisetifolia litter completely suppresses germination of understory plants as shown here despite the relative openess of the canopy and ample rainfall (>120 cm/yr) at the location The term allelopathy denotes the production of specific biomolecules by one plant that can induce suffering in, or give benefit to, another... Silviculture is the art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests to meet diverse needs and values of landowners, society and the many cultures throughout the globe // Forest regeneration is the act of renewing tree cover by establishing young trees naturally or artificially, generally... Permaculture Mandala summarising the ethics and principles of permaculture design. ... Lantana invasion of abandoned citrus plantation; Moshav Sdey Hemed, Israel The term invasive species refers to a subset of introduced species or non-indigenous species that are rapidly expanding outside of their native range. ... The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information accessible. ...

Casuarina cunninghamiana fruit and leaves Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 585 KB) Summary Casuarina cunninghamiana - fruit and leaves. ...

Casuarina cunninghamiana fruit Image File history File links Download high resolution version (750x1311, 337 KB) Fruit of Casuarina cunninghamiana. ...

Bark on the trunk of a Casuarina cunninghamiana Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 813 KB) Summary Bark (on trunk) of Casuarina cunninghamiana. ...

External links

• USDA Forest service description
• Casuarina information from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
• Research team from IRD working on Casuarinaceae
• USFS, FEIS

Kailua Beach on O‘ahu with casuarina trees on the beach dune

Wisteria Island or Christmas Tree Island about 600 yards off of downtown Key West, Florida is covered with Casuarina. Photo: Marc Averette