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Allocasuarina verticillata
Also called Drooping Sheoak
Allocasuarina verticillata, commonly known as drooping sheoak, is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a small dioecious tree that has drooping branchlets up to 400 mm (16 in) long, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of nine to thirteen, the mature fruiting cones 20–50 mm (0.8–2 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 7–12 mm (0.3–0.5 in) long.
Pedunculagin, casuarictin, strictinin, casuarinin and casuariin are ellagitannins, which have been found in this species.
Allocasuarina verticillata usually grows in grassy woodland, sometimes forming pure stands and sometimes with eucalypts. It is also found on rocky sea coasts and on dry ridges inland. In New South Wales it occurs on rocky hills south from Cobar and on coastal shale south from Sydney. It is widespread in Victoria, extending westwards to the Flinders Ranges, Gawler Ranges, western Eyre Peninsula and Kangaroo Island in South Australia. In Tasmania, the species is found near Launceston and on the east coast as far south as Hobart and the Tasman Peninsula.
Aboriginal Australians make use of the tree for a range of tasks. The Ngunnawal people make tools including boomerangs from the tree's timber. Mature cones are used as children's toys.
Allocasuarina acuaria · Allocasuarina acutivalvis · Allocasuarina anfractuosa · Allocasuarina brachystachya · Allocasuarina campestris · Allocasuarina corniculata · Allocasuarina crassa · Desert oak · Karri Oak · Dwarf Heath Casuarina · Allocasuarina dielsiana · Allocasuarina diminuta
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Allocasuarina verticillata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
