About Allocasuarina muelleriana (Miq.) L.A.S.Johnson
Allocasuarina muelleriana (Miq.) L.A.S.Johnson is most commonly dioecious, rarely monoecious, and grows as a shrub that typically reaches 0.5 to 4 meters (1 foot 8 inches to 13 feet 1 inch) in height, with smooth bark. Its branchlets are more or less erect, and grow up to 120 millimeters (4.7 inches) long. The leaves of this species are reduced to scale-like teeth 0.3 to 0.6 millimeters (0.012 to 0.024 inches) long, arranged in whorls of five to eight around the branchlets. The sections of branchlet between the leaf whorls measure 3 to 11 millimeters (0.12 to 0.43 inches) long and 0.6 to 1.1 millimeters (0.024 to 0.043 inches) wide, and are often covered in a waxy coating. Male flowers are arranged in spikes 10 to 40 millimeters (0.39 to 1.57 inches) long, and often resemble a string of beads; the anthers of these flowers are 0.5 to 1.0 millimeters (0.020 to 0.039 inches) long. Female cones are cylindrical, and are either sessile or borne on a peduncle up to 16 millimeters (0.63 inches) long. Mature cones are cylindrical, measuring 14 to 30 millimeters (0.55 to 1.18 inches) long and 9 to 18 millimeters (0.35 to 0.71 inches) in diameter. They contain black, winged seeds that are 6 to 9 millimeters (0.24 to 0.35 inches) long. This species grows in heath and scrub habitats. Subspecies muelleriana occurs across a range from Ceduna and the Flinders Ranges, including Kangaroo Island, in South Australia, to Bendigo in Victoria. Subspecies alticola is found in the north-eastern part of the species' overall range, from Freeling Heights to Wilpena Pound. Subspecies notocolpica is restricted to Kangaroo Island.
