Allocasuarina decussata

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Karri she-oak
Allocasuarina decussata.JPG
Branchlets and mature cone
Allocasuarina decussata - Flickr - Kevin Thiele.jpg
Cone detail
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Casuarinaceae
Genus: Allocasuarina
Species:
A. decussata
Binomial name
Allocasuarina decussata
AllocasuarinadecussataDistributionMap10.png
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms [1]

Casuarina decussata Benth.

Allocasuarina decussata, commonly known as karri oak [2] or karri she-oak, [3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to the south west of Western Australia. It is an understory tree in karri forest but also occurs as a stunted shrub in places like Bluff Knoll in the Stirling Range.

Contents

Description

Karri oak usually grows as a medium tree 8–15 m (26–49 ft) high, although in harsh, exposed situations in places like the top of Bluff Knoll it is a stunted shrub or poorly-formed tree in shrubland. As with other members of the family Casuarinaceae, the foliage consists of wiry green branchlets called cladodes with rings of minute leaf scales. In this species, the branchlets are about 140 mm (5.5 in) long, roughly square or X-shaped in cross section, with four scale-teeth in each ring. The rings of scale-leaves are 7–9 mm (0.28–0.35 in) apart. Separate male and female flowers form on the same individual plant. The fruiting structure is a woody cone, shaped like a short cylinder with its diameter roughly equal to or slightly greater than its length. The fruit is a winged samara 7–9 mm (0.28–0.35 in) long. [4] It often grows in association with Acacia pentadenia [2] and Asplenium aethiopicum often grows as an epiphyte on its branches. [4]

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1873 by George Bentham Flora Australiensis from specimens collected by James Drummond near Cape Riche, Western Australia. Bentham gave it the name Casuarina decussata. [5] [6] In 1982, Lawrie Johnson moved it to its current genus Allocasuarina in his revision of the she-oaks. [7] It is closely related to A. torulosa of New South Wales and Queensland. [2]

Bark of a young A. decussata in the Walpole-Nornalup National Park. Allocasuarina decussata bark.JPG
Bark of a young A. decussata in the Walpole-Nornalup National Park.

The specific epithet (decussata) is a Latin word meaning "like the letter X" or "the Roman numeral ten". [8]

Distribution and habitat

Karri oak is restricted to the southwest of Western Australia in the Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest and Warren biogeographical regions. It grows on loam in the karri forest but also found on much poorer soils in the Stirling Range. [3]

Cultivation and uses

Karri oak is not known in cultivation and there is only limited availability of timber because most trees are in national parks but its pale reddish-brown heartwood has distinctive rays that potentially make it useful as a craft wood. [2]

Related Research Articles

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

Casuarina equisetifolia, commonly known as coastal she-oak, horsetail she-oak, beach sheoak, beach casuarina or whistling tree is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is native to Australia, New Guinea, Southeast Asia and India. It is a small to medium-sized, monoecious tree with scaly or furrowed bark on older specimens, drooping branchlets, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of 7 or 8, the fruit 10–24 mm (0.39–0.94 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) long.

<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, or Fraser's sheoak is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. The Noongar peoples know the tree as kondil,condil, kulli or gulli. It is a monoecious tree that has branchlets up to 300 mm (12 in) long, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of six to eight, and the mature fruiting cones 15–40 mm (0.59–1.57 in) long, containing winged seeds (samaras) 9–10 mm (0.35–0.39 in) long.

<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 species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to south-eastern New South Wales. It is a dioecious shrub that has branchlets up to 350 mm (14 in) long, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of six to eight, the fruiting cones 13–35 mm (0.51–1.38 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 4.0–8.0 mm (0.16–0.31 in) long.

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

Allocasuarina decaisneana, commonly known as desert oak, desert sheoak, or kurkara by the Anangu peoples, is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to the Central Australia. It is a dioecious tree that typically grows to a height of 10–16 m (33–52 ft) and has long, drooping branchlets, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of four, the mature fruiting cones 28–95 mm (1.1–3.7 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 8.5–17 mm (0.33–0.67 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 inophloia</i> Species of tree

Allocasuarina inophloia, also known as woolly oak, or stringybark she-oak, is a shrub or small tree of the she-oak family Casuarinaceae endemic to inland New South Wales and Queensland. The hairy bark is an unusual feature.

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

Allocasuarina campestris is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a dense, monoecious or dioecious shrub that has more or less erect branchlets, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of seven to nine, the mature fruiting cones 19–42 mm (0.75–1.65 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 4.7–10 mm (0.19–0.39 in) long.

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

Allocasuarina brachystachya is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. It is an open, usually monoecious shrub that has branchlets up to 70 mm (2.8 in) long, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of 5 to 7, the fruiting cones 7–14 mm (0.28–0.55 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 2.5–4 mm (0.098–0.157 in) long.

<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.

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

Allocasuarina corniculata is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect to spreading, dioecious shrub that has more or less erect branchlets, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of six to eleven, the mature fruiting cones 8–15 mm (0.31–0.59 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long.

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

Allocasuarina dielsiana, commonly known as northern sheoak, is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a dioecious tree that has more or less erect branchlets, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of six to eight, and the mature fruiting cones 14–30 mm (0.55–1.18 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 8–10 mm (0.31–0.39 in) long.

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

Allocasuarina drummondiana is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an intricately branched, dioecious shrub that has its leaves reduced to scales in whorls of six or seven, the mature fruiting cones 8–15 mm (0.31–0.59 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long.

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

Allocasuarina fibrosa, commonly known as woolly sheoak, is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a dioecious shrub that has branchlets 20–50 mm (0.79–1.97 in) long, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of four, and the mature fruiting cones 11–25 mm (0.43–0.98 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in) long.

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

Allocasuarina grevilleoides is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, spreading, dioecious shrub that forms a lignotuber, and has more or less erect, sharply-pointed branchlets, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of four, the mature fruiting cones 9–14 mm (0.35–0.55 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 5.5–7.0 mm (0.22–0.28 in) long.

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

Allocasuarina helmsii is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to the south-western Australia. It is a dioecious shrub that erect branchlets, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of five or six, and mature fruiting cones 15–33 mm (0.59–1.30 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long.

Allocasuarina filidens, commonly known as the Mt Beerwah she-oak, is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of Queensland. It is a dioecious shrub that has more or less erect branchlets up to 200 mm (7.9 in) long, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of five or six, the fruiting cones 14–30 mm (0.55–1.18 in) long containing winged seeds (samaras) 6.5–9 mm (0.26–0.35 in) long.

References

  1. 1 2 "Allocasuarina decussata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Karri oak". Forest products commission Western Australia. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Allocasuarina decussata (Benth.) L.A.S.Johnson". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  4. 1 2 Wilson, Karen Louise; Johnson, Lawrence A.S. (1989). Flora of Australia (Volume 3) (PDF). Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. pp. 142–143. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  5. "Casuarina decussata". APNI. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  6. "Flora australiensis:a description of the plants of the Australian territory /by George Bentham, assisted by Ferdinand Mueller". Biodiversity Heritage Library. pp. 200–201. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  7. "Allocasuarina decussata". APNI. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  8. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 255.