Allocasurina distyla [Casuarinaceae]; Shrubby She OakThis infinitely photogenic plant is truly an unsung hero of the Sydney flora. Its tone varies from mid-green to mangrove or even grey-green, depending on conditions. Its upright, leafless stems shiver in the slightest breeze. In coastal headland cliffline scrub communities it forms dense, cloud-like mounds, due to shearing by the wind and dwarfing by the narrow soil profile. Left to its own devices in cultivation it assumes the form of a small tree (as it does in deeper soil and higher light competition). I am yet to confirm whether it’s possible to simulate these environmental responses through horticultural techniques (such as pruning or intentional root restriction). Watch this space... If you have any advice, please let me know. In the meantime I am regularly using Casuarina ‘Green Wave’ a cultivar of C. glauca that assumes a similar form and aesthetic (albeit with a deeper green and finer stem). This plant is dioecious – plants are either male of female. Females produce small red flowers, borne within the canopy of the plant (see below left); males are adorned with rusty orange hue when in flower (see below right, emerging from a Leptospermum laevigatum).
