Allocasuarina nana
(Sieber ex Spreng.) L.A.S.Johnson Stunted SheoakDioecious or rarely monoecious spreading shrub 0.2–2 m high; penultimate branchlets woody. Bark smooth. Branchlets ascending, to 8 cm long; internodes 5–6 mm long, 0.5–0.8 mm diam., often waxy, with pubescent furrows; ribs slightly rounded to flat. Teeth 4–6, erect and appressed, 0.3–0.6 mm long, not overlapping, not withered. Male spikes very dense, 5–10 mm long, 16–20 whorls per cm; anther 0.5–0.6 mm long; bracteoles persistent. Cones cylindric to barrel-shaped, longer than broad, sessile or on peduncle to 3 mm long; cone body 14–24 mm long, 10–15 mm diam.; valves in regular rows along longitudinal axis, hardly protruding from cone body, thick, body and protuberance not distinguishable, acute to broadly acute, divided into 2 larger and 3(–5) smaller bodies. Winged seeds 4–6 mm long, red-brown to black. Flowers Apr., Aug.–Oct.
GipP, EGL, EGU. Also NSW. Known only from Mt Elizabeth and the upper Genoa River, growing in heath on sandstone in exposed situations. A collection from Mount Cannibal in Bunyip State Park requires conformation and is likely to be an error.
Characterized by the chequered surface of the cone, the very dense male spikes and the terete branchlets with hardly raised ribs and few teeth.
Entwisle, T.J. (1996). Casuarinaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 3, Dicotyledons Winteraceae to Myrtaceae, pp. 90–101. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
Spinning
