Casuarina equisetifolia
Appearance
Evergreen tree to 46 m (150 ft) tall, single-trunked; reddish brown to gray bark, rough, brittle, peeling.
Leaves
Tiny scales, whorled around long, grayish-green branchlets (resemble pine needles), scales 1-3 mm (0.11 in) long, 6-8 per whorl.
Flowers
Unisexual, inconspicuous, female contained in cylindrical to almost round cone-like clusters, to 2 cm (<1 in) long; male in small terminal spikes, 1.3 cm (0.5 in) wide.
Fruit
Tiny, 1-seeded, winged nutlet contained in the cone.
Ecological threat
Invasive exotics that are altering native plant communities by displacing native species, changing community structures or ecological functions, or hybridizing with natives. FLEPPC Category I.
*Additional Casuarina species are listed on FLEPPC’s Category II list of invasive exotics: C. glauca and C. cunninghamiana.
Distribution
NW, NE, C, SW, SE
Text from Invasive and Non-native Plants You Should Know - Recognition Cards 3
More Resources
Casuarina equisetifolia, Australian Pine (EDIS Publication #FOR298)
For general information about Casuarina, download this UF/IFAS-EDIS publication, Australian pine, Casuarina, by E.F. Gilman and D.G. Watson.
For more information and pictures about Casuarina equisetifolia, view the Langeland/Burks book, Identification & Biology of Non-Native Plants in Florida's Natural Areas.
For more information and pictures about Casuarina glauca, view the Langeland/Burks book, Identification & Biology of Non-Native Plants in Florida's Natural Areas.
View the herbarium specimen image from the University of Florida Herbarium Digital Imaging Projects.
Citations
1. Identification and Biology of Nonnative Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas – Second Edition, by K.A. Langeland, H.M. Cherry, et al. University of Florida-IFAS Publication # SP 257. 2008.
2. Strangers in Paradise, Impact and Management of Nonindigenous Species in Florida, Chapter 2: Florida’s Invasion by Nonindigenous Plants: History, Screening, and Regulation, by D.R. Gordon and K.P. Thomas, pp. 21-37. Island Press, Washington, DC, 1997.
3. Invasive and Non-native Plants You Should Know - Recognition Cards, by A. Richard and V. Ramey. University of Florida-IFAS Publication # SP 431. 2007.
4. Integrated Management of Nonnative Plants in Natural Areas of Florida, by K. A. Langeland, J. A. Ferrell, B. Sellers, G. E. MacDonald, and R. K. Stocker. University of Florida-IFAS Publication # SP 242. 2011.
