| Casuarina cunninghamiana | |
|---|---|
| Casuarina cunninghamiana tree in flower.. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Fagales |
| Family: | Casuarinaceae |
| Genus: | Casuarina |
| Species: | C. cunninghamiana |
| Binomial name | |
| Casuarina cunninghamiana Miq. |
|
Casuarina cunninghamiana is a she-oak species of the genus Casuarina. The native range extends from Daly River in the Northern Territory, north and east in Queensland and eastern New South Wales.[1][2]
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The River Oak is an attractive evergreen tree with fine greyish green needle-like foliage that grows to a height of 10–35 m (33–115 ft) with a spread of about 10 metres (33 ft).[1][3] The trunk is usually erect, with dense rough bark. Flowers are reddish-brown in the male and red in the female.[1] Cones are small, nearly round to elongated and about 10 millimetres (0.39 in) across.[1]
Trees are usually found in sunny locations along stream banks and swampy areas.[1] It's widely recognised as an important tree for stabilising riverbanks and for soil erosion prevention accepting wet and dry soils. The foliage is quite palatable to stock.[2] C. cunninghamiana is frost tolerant down to around −8 °C (18 °F) and is widely used effectively as a screening plant. It is useful on windy sites and is also suited to coastal areas. C. cunninghamiana has been introduced into several other countries for the purpose of agroforestry.[3]
There are two subspecies:
The species has many common names including River Oak, River She-oak or Creek Oak.[2]
Casuarina cunninghamiana is an invasive species in the Everglades in Florida.[4]