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Casuarina equisetifolia
Australian-pine
Horsetail Casuarina
Beach Sheoak
Not native to Florida
This plant is an invasive exotic that is altering native plant communities by displacing native species, changing community structures or ecological functions, or hybridizing with natives.
This species should never be planted (many with this designation are prohibited by law), and generally should be removed whenever possible.
An all too frequent invasive tree along water edges and disturbed sites from Volusia County southward on the east coast and DIxie County south on the west coast of peninsular Florida plus Franklin County in the panhandle. This native of tropical Asia, Indonesia and Australia is also now found in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Originally imported for shade and windbreaks, all three of the Casuarina species in Florida are considered problem invasives. Australian pines displace native plants leaving the shore susceptible to erosion, which is why you can often see their exposed roots.
Casuarina equisetifolia is a member of the Casuarinaceae - She-oak family.
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Aug 15, 2016
