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Casuarina equisetifolia

Authority	J.R. & G. Forst.
Family	Magnoliopsida:Hamamelidae:Casuarinales:Casuarinaceae
Synonyms
Common names	Australian pine, horsetail tree, ironwood, nokonoko, she oak, south sea ironwood, te katurina, toa
Editor
Ecocrop code	646

Notes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Small to medium-sized evergreen tree. Var."equistifolia" is a smallish tree 8-16 m high to a tall tree reaching up to 30 m or more, with a tall stem to 20-50 cm in diameter and a narrow crown. Var."incana" is a small tree, 6-10 m high. USES It produces a very good firewood and charcoal. The wood can also be used for fenceposts, poles, house posts, rafters, beams, mine timber, roofing shingles, tool handles, oars, wagon wheels, and pulpwood. The bark can be utilized for tannin and dye and it has medicinal properties. The tree is planted for erosion control, dune stabilization, land reclamation, windbreaks, hedges, and as ornamentals. It is mentioned as a possible agroforestry species. GROWING PERIOD Perennial. Can be grown with a rotation of 8-15 years for fuelwood. The tree has a lifespan of about 25-50 years. COMMON NAMES Coast she-oak, Beach she-oak, Casuarina, Beefwood, Australian beefwood, Australian pine, Ironwood, Whistling pine, Pino australiano, Pino de Australia, Pino, Pin d'Australie, Bois de fer, Filao, Cazuarina, Mvinje, Jangli saru, Jan, Kasa, Aru, Agoho, Ru, Ru laut, Cemara laut, Tokiwa-gyoryu, Filao, Nokonoko, Sura, Chowku, Saruku, Cavukku, Pinle-kabwe, Tinyu, Horsetail oak. FURTHER INF Scientific synonym: C. littorea. In the tropics, coast she-oak can be grown at altitudes from sea level to 1500 m. The tree occur naturally within the latitudinal range of 12-31.5°S and 18-22°N. In India, young trees may grow up to 3 m/year, 25 year old trees may reach 30 m, and the tree may reach a total height of 50 m. Photosynthesis pathway C3. The tree has become a weed in southern Florida. It can only be grown in areas with an annual rainfall between 200-300 mm, if ground water is available, not deeper than 3-4 m. The tree can withstand waterlogging for short periods, but growth is inhibited by compacted soil layers. It can withstand salt spray, it is termite resistant and fixes nitrogen. Optimum yield of wood is 200 t/ha, on a rotation of 7-10 years. Annual wood production potential is 5-20 t/ha. The tree can exhaust the soil moisture, lower the ground water table, and degrade soils by its thick litter of branchlets.
Sources
SOURCES (C. equisetifolia L.) Webb D 1984 pp 121 [RAIN, TEMP, TEXT, PH, DRA, SAL, FER, LIG, USE] AGLS A 1991 pp 31 40 Roecklein J 1987 pp 418 [USE] Troup R 1921 pp 900 White F 1983 pp 259 Aronson J 1989 pp 52 [SAL] Benge M 1982 pp 15 [RAIN, TEXT, DEP, DRA, USE] Ataia A 1981 pp 3-1 National RC 1983c pp 70 [TEMP, RAIN, TEXT, SAL] National RC 1984 pp 58-59 [KTMP, RAIN, SAL, TEXT, DRA, LIMITS] National RC 1980 pp 38-41 [USE, TEMP, FER, SAL, TEXT, DRA, LIMITS] INSPIRE species 38 [RAIN, TEMP, TEXT, PH, DRA, SAL, FER, LIG, USE] Pinyopusarerk P 1994 (pers. comm.) Maydell H 1986 pp 227-228 [USE, TEXT, DEP, SAL, RAIN, LIG, LIMITS, USE] Little E 1983 pp 93-96 [KTMP, RAIN, SAL, TEXT, DRA, USE]