Australian Pine - Casuarina equisetifolia

One of my childhood memories is of stepping barefooted on the little "cones" that drop from the Australian pine tree. The reason I remember this odd little detail is that these little "cones" were very prickly and left quite an impression on the bottom of ones foot.
I´m not really sure if you can call them cones? They are only about 1cm or so long (1/2 inch). They are sort of shaped likes pine cones but not exactly. This tree is not even a real pine tree (that is to say that it is not a member of the pine genus - pinus)
You can see from looking at it why it might be called a pine tree. It has needle like leaves similar to a pine although if you look closely you will notice that they are different. For one they don´t grow in groups of two, three or four needles. Each one grows individualy from the branch.
The needles are about 15-20 cm in length (4-5 inches). If you look closely at them they have sections.
This native Australian tree, like a good number of others, has easily adapted to the climate of Southern Spain and can be found growing wild in many places.


2 comments:

  1. I love these tiny "cones"...we have tons of Australian Pines here in Florida, and the little pine cones are great for making wreaths! Not great for stepping on though! For sure!!! LOL.

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  2. As a tree trimmer in south fla. they were one of the hardest trees to climb.

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