118 
No. 62. 
Casualina Cunningliamiana, Miq. 
The River Oak. 
(Natural Order CASUARINACEyE.) 
Botanical description. —Genus Casuarina. (See p. 74, Part XIII.) 
Botanical description. —Species, Casuarina Cunninghamiana, Miq. Bev. Cas. 
56, t. 6 (1848). 
A tall glaucous tree (the largest of all Casuarinas) with slender erect branches faintly ribbed 
between the whorls, but smooth and glabrous. 
Rudimentary leaves. — 8 to 10 in the whorl, generally 9. 
Flowers. —Monoecious, the males in terminal spikes about J of an inch long, rarely attaining 
1 inch, the rudimentary leaves in the spike without elongated points in all specimens seen, 
the females terminal on short lateral branches, the rudimentary leaves with elongated ciliate 
points. 
Cones. — Subglobose or cylindrical, truncate at both ends, attaining in the fully matured cones 
about t inch in length and rarely above 4 lines in diameter, the valves very prominent, 
pubescent or occasionally glabrous in age, with a very obscure dorsal keel. 
Winged nuts. — Small, grey. 
The above description has been drawn up from specimens collected by Mr. 
Boorman and myself between Grafton and Dalmorton. I have no doubt this is the 
true Casuarina Cunninghamiana , Miq. as figured in Miq. Bev. Cas. t. 6, and by 
Poisson, Becherches sur les Casuarina (. Nouv. Arch, du Museum, x. t. 4). 
In the Handbook of the Flora of N.S.W. Messrs. Moore and Betche placed 
the species in the group of Casuarina with 6 to 8 teeth in the whorl, misled by 
Bentham, who writes about C. Cunninghamiana “ closely resembling C. equisetifolia 
in . . and number of parts of the whorls.” C. equisetifolia has 6 to 8 teeth in 
the whorl. 
Both Miquel and Poisson figure C. Cunninghamiana with 9 teeth in the 
whorl, and Miquel writes in his original description of the species: “ vaginarum 
dentibus 8-10.” 
