Allocasuarina anfractuosa

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Allocasuarina anfractuosa
Status DECF P1.svg
Priority One — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Casuarinaceae
Genus: Allocasuarina
Species:
A. anfractuosa
Binomial name
Allocasuarina anfractuosa

Allocasuarina anfractuosa, commonly known as sinuous sheoak, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to a restricted area in the southwest of Western Australia. It is a bushy, monoecious shrub that has spreading, sinuous branchlets, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of 11 to 15, the fruiting cones 28–35 mm (1.1–1.4 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 10–12 mm (0.39–0.47 in) long.

Contents

Description

Allocasuarina anfractuosa is a bushy, monoecious shrub that typically grows to a height of up to about 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in). Its branchlets are spreading, up to 50–200 mm (2.0–7.9 in) long and sinuous, the leaves reduced to erect or spreading, scale-like teeth 0.6–1.1 mm (0.024–0.043 in) long, arranged in whorls of 11 to 15 around the branchlets. The sections of branchlet between the leaf whorls (the "articles") are 7–27 mm (0.28–1.06 in) long and 0.9–1.5 mm (0.035–0.059 in) wide. Male flowers are arranged in head-like spikes 3.5–4.5 mm (0.14–0.18 in) long on the ends of branchlets, the anthers 0.8–1 mm (0.031–0.039 in) long. Female cones are covered with fine, white or dark yellowish hairs when young, and are sessile or on a peduncle up to 5 mm (0.20 in) long. Flowering has been observed in August and mature cones are more or less cylindrical, 28–35 mm (1.1–1.4 in) long and 28–30 mm (1.1–1.2 in) in diameter, the samaras dark brown and 10–12 mm (0.39–0.47 in) long. [3] [4]

Taxonomy

Allocasuarina anfractuosa was first formally described in 2016 by Juliet Wege and Sarah Barrett in the journal Nuytsia from specimens collected by Barrett near the Pallinup River in 2014. [4] [5] The specific epithet, (anfractuosa) means "sinuous", referring to the branchlets. [4]

Distribution and habitat

Sinuous sheoak grows in heath where it often forms dense stands, and is only known from a small area north-west of Boxwood Hill in the Esperance Plains bioregion of south-western Western Australia. [2] [3] [4]

Conservation status

Allocasuarina anfractuosa is listed as "Priority One" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, [2] meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations that are potentially at risk. [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Allocasuarina</i> Genus of flowering plants

Allocasuarina, commonly known as sheoak or she-oak, 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.

<i>Casuarina</i> Genus of trees

Casuarina is a genus of flowering plants in the family Casuarinaceae, and is native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. Plants in the genus Casuarina are monoecious or dioecious trees with green, pendulous, photosynthetic branchlets, the leaves reduced to small scales arranged in whorls around the branchlets, the male and female flowers arranged in separate spikes, the fruit a cone containing grey or yellowish-brown winged seeds.

<i>Allocasuarina fraseriana</i> Species of tree

Allocasuarina fraseriana, commonly known as western sheoak, common sheoak, WA sheoak. Fraser's sheoak or just sheoak, is a tree in the family Casuarinaceae. Endemic to Western Australia, it occurs near the coast in the south west corner of the State, from Jurien to Albany . The Noongar peoples know the tree as kondil.condil, kulli or gulli.

<i>Allocasuarina huegeliana</i> Species of flowering plant

Allocasuarina huegeliana, commonly known as rock sheoak or sighing sheoak, is a tree in the family Casuarinaceae. Endemic to Western Australia, it occurs mostly throughout the Wheatbelt region. It is now especially common on road verges, where it sometimes forms thickets.

<i>Allocasuarina lehmanniana</i> Species of flowering plant

Allocasuarina lehmanniana, commonly known as dune sheoak, is a shrub in the family Casuarinaceae. Endemic to Western Australia, it is widespread along on the coast from the Murchison River south to Israelite Bay.

<i>Allocasuarina humilis</i> Species of flowering plant

Allocasuarina humilis, commonly known as the dwarf sheoak or dwarf casuarina, is a woody shrub of the family Casuarinaceae endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.

<i>Allocasuarina distyla</i> Species of flowering plant

Allocasuarina distyla, commonly known as scrub she-oak, is a shrub or small tree of the She-oak family Casuarinaceae endemic to New South Wales.

<i>Casuarina cunninghamiana</i> Species of tree

Casuarina cunninghamiana, commonly known as river oak, river sheoak or creek oak, is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is native to Australia and New Guinea. It is a tree with fissured and scaly bark, sometimes drooping branchlets, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of 6 to 10, the fruit 7–14 mm (0.28–0.55 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long.

<i>Casuarina glauca</i> Species of tree

Casuarina glauca, commonly known as swamp she-oak, swamp buloke, swamp she-oak, marsh sheoak, grey she-oak, grey she-oak or guman by the Gadigal people, is a species of flowering plant that is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a dioecious tree that often forms root suckers and has fissured and scaly bark, spreading or drooping branchlets, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of 12 to 20, the fruit 9–18 mm (0.35–0.71 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 3.5–5.0 mm (0.14–0.20 in) long.

<i>Allocasuarina verticillata</i> Species of plant

Allocasuarina verticillata, commonly known as drooping she-oak or drooping sheoak, is a nitrogen fixing native tree of southeastern Australia.

<i>Casuarina obesa</i> Species of tree

Casuarina obesa, commonly known as swamp she-oak, swamp oak or western swamp oak, or as goolee, kweela, kwerl and quilinock by the Noongar peoples, is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to southern continental Australia. It is a dioecious small tree or shrub that forms root suckers, and has drooping or spreading branchlets, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of 12 to 16, the fruit 10–20 mm (0.39–0.79 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) long.

<i>Casuarina pauper</i> Species of plant

Casuarina pauper, commonly known as black oak, belah or kariku, is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to southern continental Australia. It is a dioecious tree with fissured or scaly bark, waxy branchlets, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of 9 to 13, the fruit 13–18 mm (0.51–0.71 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 5.5–7.0 mm (0.22–0.28 in) long.

<i>Allocasuarina grampiana</i> Species of flowering plant

Allocasuarina grampiana, commonly known as Grampians sheoak, is a dioecious shrub or tree of the family Casuarinaceae. The species is endemic to the Grampians in Victoria, Australia where it grows on sandstone outcrops. It grows to between 1 and 4 metres high and has ascending needle-like branchlets to 15 cm long which have a waxy bloom. Cones are cylindrical and are between 13 and 35 mm long and about 8mm in diameter. These produce 5mm long winged seeds.

<i>Allocasuarina acuaria</i> Species of flowering plant

Allocasuarina acuaria is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a dioecious shrub that has erect branchlets, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of four on the ends of the branchlets, the fruiting cones 15–19 mm (0.59–0.75 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) about 6 mm (0.24 in) long.

<i>Allocasuarina acutivalvis</i> Species of flowering plant

Allocasuarina acutivalvis is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a dioecious shrub to small tree that has erect branchlets, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of 10 to 14, the fruiting cones 15–35 mm (0.59–1.38 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 6–12 mm (0.24–0.47 in) long.

Allocasuarina fibrosa, commonly known as the woolly sheoak, is a shrub of the genus Allocasuarina native to a small area in the central Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.

<i>Allocasuarina thuyoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Allocasuarina thuyoides, commonly known as the horned sheoak, is a shrub of the genus Allocasuarina native to a large area in the Mid West, Wheatbelt, South West and Goldfields-Esperance regions of Western Australia.

<i>Allocasuarina zephyrea</i>

Allocasuarina zephyrea, commonly known as the western sheoak or western scrub sheoak, is a shrub of the genus Allocasuarina native to Tasmania. It is a common and widespread shrub occurring in Central and Western Tasmania.

Allocasuarina emuina, commonly known as the Emu Mountain sheoak, is a shrub of the genus Allocasuarina native to Queensland.

Allocasuarina hystricosa is a species of plant in the sheoak family Casuarinaceae that is endemic to south-western Western Australia.

References

  1. "Allocasuarina anfractuosa". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Allocasuarina anfractuosa". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. 1 2 "Allocasuarina anfractuosa". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Wege, Juliet; Barrett, Sarah R. (2016). "Allocasuarina anfractuosa (Casuarinaceae), a new sheoak from southern Western Australia". Nuytsia. 27: 125–127. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  5. "Allocasuarina anfractuosa". APNI. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  6. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 13 May 2023.