Casuarinaceae

Casuarina glauca

Common Names: Swamp oak

Plant Form: Medium tree. Size: 8-20 m tall, sometimes taller. Can occasionally be creeper in coastal heath. Stem: Hard grey or grey-brown, with finely cracked and scaly bark. Leaves: Typical Sheoak (Casuarinaceae), tiny leaves form rings around long thin drooping branchlets in segments. Flowers: Clusters with pollen on the tips of branchlets, male flowers are brown, female are bright red and hairy appearance. Fruit and Seeds: Rounded cones on stalked heads, with reddish to white hairs when young, becoming woody and releasing winged nutlets when mature. Habitat: Riverbanks, floodplains, swamps, dunes. Distinguishing Features: Very hard to distinguish from other Sheoaks (Casuarinaceae) and can hybridise. Impacts: Increases soil erosion, reduces biodiversity, can form dense thickets reducing river access and amenity.

Thickets in swamps areas

Leaves are coarse and long

May have spittle bugs

Seed pods are round and average sized