Allocasuarina littoralis

Botanical Name: Allocasuarina littoralis 
Common Name: Black sheoak
Family: Casuarinaceae
Size: 5-10m H x 2-6m W
Leaves: 6-8 narrow to broadly triangular non overlapping leaf-teeth, borne on furrowed, upright or drooping, hairy branchlets.

Flowers: Male: in terminal spikes 1-3cm long, whorls of bracts of mature flowers do not overlap. The resulting brown colouring causes a dramatic change in the appearance of the tree. Female, crowded red tufts at the end of short lateral branches.
Flowering Time: Autumn
Fruit: a cone 1-4cm long, cylindrical with rounded blunt valves.
Habitat/distribution: Mainly a coastal tree growing in poor, well drained sandy soils, also found in tall heath and woodland. Also Vic, NSW, Q.
Where to See: Widespread in eastern half of State, Bruny Island, Tasman, Forestier and Freycinet Peninsulas, Maria Island, many Hobart, Launceston, Devonport and surrounding area bushland parks including Knocklofty and Peter Murrell Reserves, and gardens.
Other notes: Erect tree, the branchlets generally shorter with shorter segments and fewer leaf-teeth than A. verticillata. Cones with blunt valves. A good specimen tree for a large garden.