Casuarina

Excellent windbreak and screening plant for coastal areas. Creates distinctive vertical accent with weeping foliage. Popular for erosion control on slopes and dunes. Provides filtered shade and unique textural contrast in landscapes. Fast-growing pioneer species for difficult sites.

Traditional Aboriginal medicine used bark for treating diarrhea and dysentery. Decoctions used for coughs and sore throats. Young shoots chewed for toothache relief. Bark contains tannins with astringent properties. Some species used externally for skin conditions and wounds.

Not commonly used in cuisine. Young shoots occasionally eaten as emergency food by indigenous peoples. Seeds from some species were ground into flour by Aboriginal Australians. The tree produces no conventional edible fruits. Generally considered a non-food plant.

Nitrogen-fixing through root nodules with Frankia bacteria, enriching soil. Provides habitat for various birds, especially cockatoos that feed on seeds. Dense canopy offers nesting sites. Fallen needles create acidic mulch suppressing weeds. Tolerates salt spray, drought, and poor soils. Important coastal stabilizer.

Distinctive jointed, needle-like branchlets (cladodes) resembling pine needles. True leaves reduced to tiny scales at joints. Separate male and female flowers on same tree. Male flowers in terminal spikes, females in small heads. Woody cone-like fruits. Drooping, feathery appearance. Gray-green to dark green coloration.

Known as 'she-oak' producing very hard, heavy timber with distinctive oak-like rays. Excellent firewood with high heat output. Used for tool handles, shingles, and furniture. Beautiful reddish-brown color when finished. Difficult to work but takes excellent polish. Traditional Aboriginal use for weapons and implements.

Despite pine-like appearance, it's a flowering plant not a conifer. Name derives from supposed resemblance of wood to cassowary feathers. Makes distinctive whistling sound in wind. Some species can live over 100 years. Produces allelopathic compounds inhibiting other plants. Called 'ironwood' due to timber density.