Rubina Dawar

Casuarina equisetifolia Illustration

Trees or shrubs. Furrows of branchlets deep and narrow. Nodal leaf sheath 6-many-toothed, triangular. Bracts remain thin even in infructescence. Samaras pale grey or yellow-brown, with minute slightly raised wavy lines along the surface.

A genus of c.50 species, distribution same as that of the family; widely cultivated.

The genus Casuarina L. is now split into 4 small genera viz. Gymnostoma L.A.S. Johnson, Ceuthostoma L.A.S. Johnson, Allocasuarina L.A.S. Johnson and Casuarina L., on the bases of texture of bracts of infructescence, presence or absence of visible stomates and colour of samaras. Casuarina is more closely related to Allocasuarina by having invisible stomates and relatively thin and inconspicuous bracts. However, Casuarina can be differentiated from Allocasuarinas by having grey or yellow-brown samara and bracteoles of infructescence thin and without dorsal protuberance. All our species belong to Casuarina.

Lower Taxa

• Casuarina equisetifolia L.
• Casuarina glauca Sieber ex Spreng.
• Casuarina junghuhniana Miq.

Related Synonym(s):

• Casuarina montana Miq. = Casuarina junghuhniana Miq.