Casuarina species

Australian pine

Nonnative to FloridaFlorida Noxious Weed ListFISC Category 1 Invasive

Species Overview

Origin: Australia, south Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia 
Introduction to Florida: Casuarina equisetifolia: 1887 (ornamental) | Casuarina glauca: 1890 (ornamental, agriculture) | Casuarina cunninghamiana: pre-1924 (ornamental, agriculture) 

Distribution

NW, NE, C, SW, SE

Text from Invasive and Non-native Plants You Should Know – Recognition Cards 3

Species Characteristics

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.

Impacts

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