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Synonyms: Allocasuarina emuina L.A.S.Johnson APNI*

Description: Dioecious spreading to erect shrub 0.5-.1.5m high, root-suckering; bark grey-brown, smooth or slightly fissured on big branches.

Branchlets ascending, to 12 (-18) cm long; articles 3–12 mm long, 0.5–0.9 mm diam., smooth, slightly pubescent in furrows; phyllichnia angular to rounded; teeth 5–7(-10), acute, erect to slightly spreading, convex, not overlapping, not or rarely marcescent.

Male spikes 0.5–4.5 cm long, 6–10(-17) whorls per cm; bracteoles persistent; anther 0.5–1.0 mm long.

Cones cylindrical, occasionally irregular and with a sterile apex to c. 5 mm long; peduncle 3–14 mm long, slender; cone body 12–28 mm long, (6-)8–18 mm diam.; bracteoles obtuse to broadly acute, pyramidal protuberance shorter than bracteole body and diverging from it low down. Samaras 4.0–8.0 mm long, dark brown to blackish.

Habit Photo Tracey Armstrong

Flower Photo Tracey Armstrong

Fruit Photo Tracey Armstrong

Other photo Photo L.L. Lee

Distribution and occurrence: Widespread along the North Coast as far south as Diamond Head, extending north to the Noosa Heads area of SE Queensland.

In graminoid low heath, on coastal flats or on rhyolite or granite outcrops close to the coast.
NSW subdivisions: NC
Other Australian states: Qld
Threatened species: Commonwealth EPBC: Endangered

AVH map***

This species is tetraploid (Rose et al. 2015). It is variable and may be divided after further study. It was originally considered to be endemic to Qld but is now considered to include populations in NE NSW that have been referred to as 'A. sp. aff. defungens' and 'possible hybrid A. defungens X A. littoralis'. (There are some plants that do seem to be genuine hybrids between A. defungens and A. littoralis, from Crowdy Bay Nat. Park area south to Nabiac.)