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Casuarina cunninghamiana
Casuarinaceae FAMILY

Casuarina cunninghamiana

Casuarina cunninghamiana

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthFast

Casuarina cunninghamiana succeeds in warm temperate to tropical areas at elevations from sea level to 2,200 metres[1]. Plants grow best in areas where the mean annual temperature is in the range 13 - 29°c and the mean annual precipitation in the range of 500 - 1,500mm[2, 1]. Heavy frosts can occur up to 50 times in a year in some parts of its range and mature plants can tolerate short periods with temperatures down to about -10°c, but young growth is badly damaged at -1°c[3, 4]. Requires a well-drained moisture-retentive soil in full sun[5]. Succeeds in most soils, whether well-drained or damp, in Australian gardens[6, 7]. The plant is reported to tolerate acid soils, alkaline soils, muck, sand dunes, salt, weeds, and wind[2]. Moderately tolerant of saline conditions[1]. Becomes chlorotic on highly calcareous soils[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 4.5 - 7.5[3]. Moderately drought resistant, but unable to tolerate semi-arid conditions unless some additional groundwater is available to supplement rainfall[1]. A fast-growing tree, with average height increments of 1 - 2 metres per year[1]. When planted outside its natural habitat, it adapts itself to comparatively dry sites[1]. A dioecious species, both male and female forms must be grown if seed is required. Male flowers are produced in terminal spikes, fthe emale flowers in small, reddish cones[8]. Plants display fairly good coppicing ability when young, and older trees are capable of producing root suckers[1]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil micro-organisms, these form nodules on the roots of the plants and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[6, 5]. When introduced to exotic localities, inoculation of the seedlings with pure culture of effective strains of Frankia rhizobia is recommended to enable the species to fix atmospheric nitrogen[1].

Propagation

Seed - the optimum temperature for germination is 30°c[1]. Sow late winter to early summer in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed[9]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. There are 440,000 - 550,000 seeds per kilo[2]. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, mid summer in a frame[6, 5]. Treatment of terminal branchlets, heel cuttings or basal sprouts especially from juvenile plants with root-inducing hormone powder has proved successful[1]. Cuttings should be maintained on a mist bench with bottom heat[1]. Vegetative propagation by air layering has been attempted with limited success[1]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Casuarina+cunninghamiana>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  2. [2]Handbook of Energy Crops — Duke. J. · - · 1983 · https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/dukeindex.html · ISBN - ↩︎Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of both temperate and tropical plants.
  3. [3]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  4. [4]Australian Trees and Shrubs: Species for Land Rehabilitation and Farm Planting in the Tropics — Doran J.C.; Turnbull J.W. (Editors) · Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research; Canbe · 1997 · ISBN 1-86320-127-0 ↩︎A very informative book, rich in information about the uses, cultivation needs and very much more for over 160 species of Australian trees and shrubs.
  5. [5]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  6. [6]Australian Native Plants. — Wrigley. J. W. and Fagg. M. · Collins. (Australia) · 1988 · ISBN 0-7322-0021-0 ↩︎A lovely book, written in order to encourage Australian gardeners to grow their native plants. A little bit of information for the plant project.
  7. [7]A Field Guide to Australian Trees. — Holliday. I. and Hill. R. · Frederick Muller Ltd. · 1974 · ISBN 0-85179-627-3 ↩︎A well illustrated and very readable book, but it does not contain much information for the plant project.
  8. [8]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
  9. [9]Growing from Seed. Volume 3. — Bird. R. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1989 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.
  10. [10]Useful Wild Plants in Australia. — Cribb. A. B. and J. W. · William Collins Pty Ltd. Sidney · 1981 · ISBN 0-00-216441-8 ↩︎A very readable book.
  11. [11]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.