Casuarina species

Common Name(s): Australian pine

Non-Native to Florida

Origin: Australia, south Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia 1
Introduction to Florida: Casuarina equisetifolia: 1887 (ornamental) | Casuarina glauca: 1890 (ornamental, agriculture) | Casuarina cunninghamiana: pre-1924 (ornamental, agriculture) 2

This species appears on the following legally prohibited plant lists

Federal Noxious Weed List Florida Noxious Weed List Florida Prohibited Aquatic Plants List
No Yes Yes

UF-IFAS Assessment of Non-Native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas
Casuarina cunninghamiana | Casuarina equisetifolia | Casuarina glauca

CATEGORY I on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council’s (FLEPPC) 2017 List of Invasive Plant Species

FWC WEED ALERT (PDF)

Download a recognition card (PDF) from Invasive and Non-native Plants You Should Know3

Download a page (PDF) from Identification and Biology of Nonnative Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas – Second Edition1

Control information: Integrated Management of Nonnative Plants in Natural Areas of Florida (EDIS publication SP 242)4

New! Australian Pine (Casuarina equisetifolia L.) Management Plan for Florida – April 2013

More Resources

Casuarina equisetifolia

Appearance

Evergreen tree to 46 m (150 ft) tall, single-trunked; reddish brown to gray bark, rough, brittle, peeling.

Leaves

Tiny scales, whorled around long, grayish-green branchlets (resemble pine needles), scales 1-3 mm (0.11 in) long, 6-8 per whorl.

Flowers

Unisexual, inconspicuous, female contained in cylindrical to almost round cone-like clusters, to 2 cm (<1 in) long; male in small terminal spikes, 1.3 cm (0.5 in) wide.

Fruit

Tiny, 1-seeded, winged nutlet contained in the cone.

Ecological threat

Invasive exotics that are altering native plant communities by displacing native species, changing community structures or ecological functions, or hybridizing with natives. FLEPPC Category I.

*Additional Casuarina species are listed on FLEPPC’s Category II list of invasive exotics: C. glauca and C. cunninghamiana.

Distribution

NW, NE, C, SW, SE

Text from Invasive and Non-native Plants You Should Know – Recognition Cards 3

 

 

More Resources

Casuarina equisetifolia, Australian Pine (EDIS Publication #FOR298)

For general information about Casuarina, download this UF/IFAS-EDIS publication, Australian pine, Casuarina, by E.F. Gilman and D.G. Watson.

For more information and pictures about Casuarina equisetifolia, view the Langeland/Burks book,
Identification & Biology of Non-Native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas.

For more information and pictures about Casuarina glauca, view the Langeland/Burks book,
Identification & Biology of Non-Native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas.

View the herbarium specimen image from the University of Florida Herbarium Digital Imaging Projects.

Casuarina speciesCasuarina speciesCasuarina species

 

 

Citations

1. Identification and Biology of Nonnative Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas – Second Edition,
by K.A. Langeland, H.M. Cherry, et al. University of Florida-IFAS Publication # SP 257. 2008.

2. Strangers in Paradise, Impact and Management of Nonindigenous Species in Florida, Chapter 2: Florida’s Invasion by Nonindigenous Plants: History, Screening, and Regulation, by D.R.
Gordon and K.P. Thomas, pp. 21-37. Island Press, Washington, DC, 1997.

3. Invasive and Non-native Plants You Should Know – Recognition Cards,
by A. Richard and V. Ramey. University of Florida-IFAS Publication # SP 431. 2007.

4. Integrated Management of Nonnative Plants in Natural Areas of Florida, by K. A. Langeland, J. A. Ferrell, B. Sellers, G. E. MacDonald, and R. K. Stocker. University of Florida-IFAS Publication # SP 242. 2011.

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