Allocasuarina

From Vero - Wikipedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Automatic taxobox

File:Allocasuarina littoralis.jpg
Allocasuarina littoralis drawing (Edward Minchen)
File:Allocasuarina inophloia 01 Pengo.jpg
Allocasuarina inophloia

Allocasuarina, commonly known as sheoak<ref name=FB>Template:FloraBase</ref> or she-oak,<ref name="dpaw">Template:Cite web</ref> is a genus of flowering plants in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to Australia. Plants in the genus Allocasuarina are trees or shrubs with soft, pendulous, green branchlets, the leaves reduced to scale-like teeth. Allocasuarinas are either monoecious or dioecious, the flowers never bisexual. Male and female flowers are arranged in spikes, the female spikes developing into cone-like structures enclosing winged seeds.

The genera Allocasuarina and Casuarina are similar, and many formerly in the latter now included in Allocasuarina.

Description

Plants in the genus Allocasuarina are trees or shrubs with soft, pendulous, green branchlets, the leaves reduced to 4 to 14 scale-like teeth arranged around in whorls around ribbed, jointed branchlets. Allocasuarinas have separate male and female flowers, sometimes on one plant (monoecious), otherwise on separate male and female plants, (dioecious). Male flowers are arranged in spikes along branchlets that are usually different from the vegetative branchlets. Female flowers are in spikes on short side-branches, the female spikes later developing into cone-like structures enclosing winged seeds known as samaras, which are reddish-brown to black, with thickly woody bracteoles that extend only slightly beyond the cone body.<ref name="las" /><ref name="FB" /><ref name="dpaw" /><ref name="RBGV">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="foa">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="SA">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="RBGS1">Template:Cite web</ref>

The genera Allocasuarina was created out of a grouping of plants formerly placed in Casuarina, because of subtle but consistent differences – Casuarina species have 6 to 20 scale-like teeth in each whorl of leaves, their samaras are grey or yellowish-brown, and the bracteoles of the fruiting cones are thin, woody and extend well beyond the cone body.<ref name="RBGS1" />

Taxonomy

The genus Allocasuarina was first formally described in 1982 by Lawrence Johnson in the Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.<ref name="APNI" /> In the same paper, Johnson transferred some species previously included in Casuarina to the new genus, and nominated Allocasuarina torulosa Aiton L.A.S.Johnson as the type species.<ref name="las" /> The name Allocasuarina means "other Casuarina".<ref name="Sharr">Template:Cite book</ref> ("Allo-" in Greek means "other".)<ref name="Stearn">Template:Cite book</ref>

List of species

The following is a list of Allocasuarina accepted by the Australian Plant Census and Plants of the World Online as of April 2023:<ref name="POWO">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="APClist">Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

Distribution and habitat

Plants in the genus Allocasuarina usually grow in nutrient-deficient soils and are endemic to southern Australia, but 4 species occur in north-eastern Queensland, and one in the north of Western Australia.<ref name="foa" />

References

Template:Reflist

Template:Commons category

Template:Taxonbar