Coastal she-oak
Casuarina equisetifolia L.
Coastal she-oak (Casuarina equisetifolia) is a coastal tree whose jointed green branchlets act as leaves; it tolerates salt wind and hot sand and fixes nitrogen via symbiotic Frankia. It is planted as windbreak and sand-binder belts along the Vietnamese coast.
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Coastal she-oak — Whole treeCoastal she-oak — Fruit & seeds
Coastal she-oak — Whole tree
Coastal she-oak — Leaves
Coastal she-oak — Plant
Coastal she-oak — Fruit & seedsCoastal she-oak — Whole treeCoastal she-oak — Fruit & seedsOverview
A tree 6–35 m tall with a straight trunk and grey, fissured bark. True leaves are reduced to tiny scales around the joints of green, photosynthetic branchlets, giving a horsetail-like look. Trees are monoecious or dioecious with small, petal-less flowers; the fruit is a small woody, cone-like cluster of capsules.
Roots form actinorhizal nodules with Frankia bacteria that fix nitrogen, letting the tree thrive on nutrient-poor sand. The reddish-brown wood is very hard and heavy and resists decay, used for poles, fuel, charcoal and tools; the bark is rich in tannins for tanning and dyeing.
Life cycle
From seed to productSeed
Tiny winged seeds disperse by wind and water; sown in moist sand, they germinate quickly after rain.
Sapling
Seedlings root deeply, tolerate hot sand and salt wind, and grow fast to form green belts.
Mature tree
Trees 6–35 m with a fine, evergreen canopy provide effective shade and wind protection.
Fruiting
Small woody, cone-like capsule clusters ripen and open to release winged seeds.
Distribution & origin
Share of recorded occurrences by region- Australia (native)25%
- Vietnam (coastal)25%
- SE Asia & Pacific25%
- Planted in Africa · Americas25%
Uses
- Windbreak, sand-binder and coastal erosion control
- Poles, tools, fuelwood and charcoal
- Tannin-rich bark for tanning and dyeing
Properties
- Branchlets
- Green, jointed, leaf-like
- Wood
- Reddish-brown, very hard, heavy
- Salt tolerance
- High, suited to coastal sand
Habitat & conservation
Coastal sandy beaches, dunes and well-drained sandy soils; tolerates salt wind, drought and nitrogen-poor soils thanks to symbiotic nitrogen fixation.
Conservation
Not globally threatened (IUCN: Least Concern) and widely planted across the tropical coast. Outside its native range it can become invasive and needs management in some places.
References
- 1Plants of the World Online — Casuarina equisetifolia — Kew Science, 2024
- 2IUCN Red List — Casuarina equisetifolia — IUCN, 2019
- 3CABI Invasive Species Compendium — Casuarina equisetifolia — CABI, 2022
- 4Hình ảnh minh hoạ lấy từ Wikimedia Commons, tôn trọng giấy phép ghi kèm — Wikimedia Commons,
- 5Nguồn ảnh: Sam Fraser-Smith from Brisbane, Australia (CC BY 2.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 6Nguồn ảnh: lienyuan lee (CC BY 3.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 7Nguồn ảnh: Eric Guinther (CC BY-SA 3.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 8Nguồn ảnh: Bruce Bailey (CC BY 4.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 9Nguồn ảnh: Forest and Kim Starr (CC BY 3.0 us), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,