Allocasuarina verticillata
Encyclopedia
Allocasuarina verticillata or drooping sheoak is a nitrogen fixing native tree of southeastern Australia
. Originally collected in Tasmania and described as Casuarina verticillata by French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
in 1786, it was moved to its current genus in 1982 by Australian botanist Lawrie Johnson
.
It grows as a small tree with a rounded habit, reaching 4-10 metres (12-35 ft) in height.
It is found from central New South Wales south into Victoria and South Australia as well as Tasmania.
On Kangaroo Island, it is the preferred food item of the Glossy Black Cockatoo, which holds the cones in its foot and shreds them with its powerful bill before removing the seeds with its tongue.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Originally collected in Tasmania and described as Casuarina verticillata by French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de la Marck , often known simply as Lamarck, was a French naturalist...
in 1786, it was moved to its current genus in 1982 by Australian botanist Lawrie Johnson
Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson
Lawrence Alexander Sidney Johnson, known as Lawrie Johnson, was an Australian taxonomic botanist. He worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, for the whole of his professional career, as a botanist , Director and Honorary Research Associate .Alone or in collaboration with colleagues, he...
.
It grows as a small tree with a rounded habit, reaching 4-10 metres (12-35 ft) in height.
It is found from central New South Wales south into Victoria and South Australia as well as Tasmania.
On Kangaroo Island, it is the preferred food item of the Glossy Black Cockatoo, which holds the cones in its foot and shreds them with its powerful bill before removing the seeds with its tongue.