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Black She-oak
Allocasuarina littoralis
-27.499, 153.017
Field Notes
Description:
The Black She-oak is often described as having ‘pine needles’, but in actual fact has ‘cladodes’ with minute leaves arranged around each joint. Gently pull one apart and you will be left with, what looks like, a tiny crown. Each point on the crown is the leaf. This is an adaption that enables the She-oak to retain precious moisture in Australia’s often arid climate.
Like peas and beans, the She-oak is able to ‘fix’ nitrogen in the soil through nodes of symbiotic bacteria on their roots. This is critical for other species that depend on this natural fertiliser to grow in Australia’s poor soils.
The Black She-oak is an important food tree for the threatened Glossy Black-Cockatoo who returns to preferred feeding trees - sometimes only one tree within a stand of Black She-oaks will be chosen.
In the past, Black She-oak wood was the preferred fuel for bakery ovens as it burns at very high temperatures.
Habitat:
Occurs from Cape York, Queensland, south along the coast and adjoining tablelands to the Otway Range in Victoria, and down the east coast of Tasmania to south of Hobart. Grows in woodland and occasionally in tall heath. It thrives in sandy and other poor soils. This spotting was made by the freshwater lake at the University of Queensland Campus in Brisbane.
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