Allocasuarina rupicola

Allocasuarina rupicola, commonly known as shrubby she-oak,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of eastern Australia. It is a slender, dioecious shrub that has branchlets up to 180 mm (7.1 in) long, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of seven or eight, the fruiting cones 6–19 mm (0.24–0.75 in) long containing winged seeds 2.8–5.0 mm (0.11–0.20 in) long.

Allocasuarina rupicola
In Girraween National Park
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Casuarinaceae
Genus: Allocasuarina
Species:
A. rupicola
Binomial name
Allocasuarina rupicola
Occurrence data from AVH

Description

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Allocasuarina rupicola is a slender, dioecious shrub that typically grows to a height of 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in) and has smooth bark. Its branchlets are up to 180 mm (7.1 in) long, the leaves reduced to scale-like teeth 0.2–0.6 mm (0.0079–0.0236 in) long, arranged in whorls of seven or eight around the branchlets. The sections of branchlet between the leaf whorls are 8–11 mm (0.31–0.43 in) long, 0.7–0.9 mm (0.028–0.035 in) wide. Male flowers are arranged in spikes resembling a string of beads 10–25 mm (0.39–0.98 in) long, with 7.5 to 8 whorls per centimetre (per 0.39 in.), the anthers 0.7–0.8 mm (0.028–0.031 in) long. Female cones are on a peduncle 2–14 mm (0.079–0.551 in) long, and mature cones shortly cylindrical, 6–19 mm (0.24–0.75 in) long and 6–10 mm (0.24–0.39 in) in diameter, containing winged seeds 2.8–5.0 mm (0.11–0.20 in) long.[3][4][5]

Taxonomy

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Allocasuarina rupicola was first described in 1989 by Lawrie Johnson in Flora of Australia.[5][6] The specific epithet, (rupicola) means "rock-dweller", referring to its occurrence near rocks.[5]

Distribution and habitat

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Shrubby she-oak is found among clefts in granite on the slopes of mountains and near creeks between Wyberba in south-eastern Queensland, and Boonoo Boonoo National Park in north eastern New South Wales.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Allocasuarina rupicola". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Shrubby she-oak – Allocasuarina rupicola". WetlandInfo. Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Allocasuarina rupicola". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  4. ^ Wilson, Karen L.; Johnson, Lawrence A.S. "Allocasuarina rupicola". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Wilson, Karen L.; Johnson, Lawrence A.S. (1989). George, Alex S. (ed.). Flora of Australia (PDF). Vol. 3. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. p. 199. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Allocasuarina rupicola". APNI. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
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