Allocasuarina diminuta L.A.S.Johnson APNI* 
Description: Dioecious or monoecious shrub or small tree 1–5 m high; bark smooth, greyish brown.
Branchlets ascending, to 23 cm long; articles terete, often with a waxy bloom, glabrous, 5–12 mm long, 0.5–1.1 mm diam.; ridges rounded-convex to angular; teeth broad- to narrow-triangular, more or less straight-sided, 6–9, erect to spreading, mostly not overlapping, not withering, 0.3–0.8 mm long.
Male spikes occasionally moniliform, 0.5–5 cm long, 5–10 whorls per cm; bracteoles persistent; anther 0.5–0.8 mm long.
Cones short- to long-cylindrical, occasionally irregular, pubescent at least when young, on peduncle 2–10 mm long; cone body 5–20 mm long, 5–12 mm diameter; bracteoles with truncate to broad-acute apex, pyramidal protuberance shorter than bracteole body. Samara 3.5–5.0 mm long, dark brown.
Distribution and occurrence: Western Slopes of N.S.W., from the Pilliga Scrub S. to Temora, the tablelands and coastal ranges from Capertee to Bathurst and from Blackheath S. to Braidwood and Sassafras, and isolated occurrences in the Sydney area and near Eden. In heath or low open woodland, on sandstone ridges and hillsides.
NSW subdivisions: NC, CC, SC, CT, ST, NWS, CWS, SWS, NWP
Three closely related subspecies are recognised. Differs from A. rigida in its mostly shorter and more slender articles, with teeth often shorter and mostly not overlapping or strongly spreading or marcescent, and in its often smaller cones and in often being monoecious. Differs from A. gymnanthera, which has a partly overlapping range, in its glabrous articles with more stongly convex phyllichnia and mostly non-overlapping teeth, its rarely moniliform male spikes with persistent bracteoles and smaller anthers, and its smaller cones.
Text by K. L. Wilson & L. A. S. Johnson (1990); edited KL Wilson (Feb 2014, April 2026)
Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 1; Wilson and Johnson, Flora of Australia vol. 3 (1989)
| | Key to the subspecies | |
| 1 | Ridges rounded-convex (occasionally only slightly so); teeth 6 or 7, narrow-triangular usually with straight margins; articles often with waxy bloom. Shrub 2–5 m high. Teeth 6 or 7, 0.3–0.5 mm long. Anther 0.5–0.7 mm long. Cone bracteoles obtuse to truncate | subsp. diminuta |
| Ridges angular to rounded-convex; teeth 6–10 | 2 |
| 2 | Teeth broad-triangular with convex margins; articles often with waxy bloom. Shrub 1–2.5 m high. Teeth 6–10, 0.3–0.6 mm long. Anther 0.5–0.7 mm long. Cone bracteoles obtuse to broad-acute | subsp. mimica |
| Teeth broad- or narrow-triangular with straight or somewhat convex margins; articles not waxy. Shrub 1–2.5 m high. Teeth 6–8, 0.4–0.8 mm long. Anther 0.6–0.8 mm long. Cone bracteoles obtuse to truncate
Back to 1 | subsp. annectens |
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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