Common name: Dwarf She-oak
Allocasuarina nana (Sieber ex Spreng.) L.A.S.Johnson APNI* Synonyms: Casuarina nana Sieber ex Spreng. APNI*
Description: Low spreading shrub, 0.5–2 m high, usually dioecious; bark smooth, greyish brown.
Branchlets ascending, to 8 cm long; articles smooth, often somewhat waxy, with pubescent furrows, 5–6 mm long, 0.5–0.8 mm in diam.; ridges very slightly rounded-convex; teeth 5 or 6 (rarely 4), erect, not overlapping, not withering, 0.3–0.6 mm long.
Male spikes dense, short, 5–10 mm long, 16–20 whorls per cm; anther 0.5–0.6 mm long.
Cones cylindrical to barrel-shaped, of smooth outline and tessellated surface because of thick usually obtuse-topped bracteoles and protuberances; cone body 14–24 mm long, 10–15 mm diam.; bracteoles scarcely protruding beyond cone body, acute to broad-acute, with protuberance divided into 2 larger and 3 (rarely 5) smaller obtuse pyramidal bodies. Samara 4.0–6.0 mm long, very dark red-brown to black.
Distribution and occurrence: Coast and tablelands of N.S.W. south from Cowan and Upper Cudgegong River to the upper Genoa River in NE Victoria. In heath, on sandstone, in exposed situations such as ridges on the eastern ranges of the tablelands.
NSW subdivisions: CC, SC, CT, ST
Other Australian states: Vic.
This is the only eastern Australian species with cones that are of smoothish outline with a tessellated surface because of the thick obtuse-topped bracteoles and protuberances.
Text by K. L. Wilson & L. A. S. Johnson (1990); edited KL Wilson (Feb 2014, April 2026)
Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 1 (1990); Wilson and Johnson, Flora of Australia vol. 3 (1989)
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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