Allocasuarina pinaster, commonly known as compass bush,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a prickly, dioecious shrub resembling a pine tree and that has its leaves reduced to scales in whorls of four, the mature fruiting cones 14–25 mm (0.55–0.98 in) long, containing winged seeds 10–11 mm (0.39–0.43 in) long.
Description
Allocasuarina pinaster is a prickly, dioecious shrub that typically grows to a height of 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in) and resembles a small cedar. Its branchlets are 20–60 mm (0.79–2.36 in) long, the leaves reduced to scale-like teeth 0.4–1.3 mm (0.016–0.051 in) long, arranged in whorls of four around the needle-like branchlets. The sections of branchlet between the leaf whorls are mostly 20–50 mm (0.79–1.97 in) long, 1.0–1.2 mm (0.039–0.047 in) wide and more or less square in cross-section. Male flowers are arranged in spikes 5–10 mm (0.20–0.39 in) long, the anthers 1.0–1.4 mm (0.039–0.055 in) long. Female cones are sessile or on a peduncle up to 5 mm (0.20 in) long, the mature cones 14–25 mm (0.55–0.98 in) long and 12–16 mm (0.47–0.63 in) in diameter containing dark brown to black, winged seeds 10–11 mm (0.39–0.43 in) long.[2][3]
^ abc"Allocasuarina pinaster". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
^Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 278. ISBN9780958034180.