Allocasuarina brachystachya

Allocasuarina brachystachya is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. It is an open, usually monoecious shrub that has branchlets up to 70 mm long, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of 5 to 7, the fruiting cones 7–14 mm long containing winged seeds (samaras) 2.5–4 mm long.

Description
Allocasuarina brachystachya is an open, spreading, usually monoecious shrub that typically grows to a height of up to about 3 m. Its branchlets are more or less erect, up to 70 mm long, the leaves reduced to erect, scale-like teeth 0.2–0.5 mm long, arranged in whorls of five to seven around the branchlets. The sections of branchlet between the leaf whorls (the "articles") are 2–5 mm long and 0.4–0.7 mm wide. Male flowers are arranged in head-like spikes 5–17 mm long, the anthers 0.3–0.6 mm long. Female cones are covered with fine, white or dark yellowish hairs when young, and are sessile or on a peduncle up to 5 mm long. Mature cones are 7–14 mm long and 5–8 mm in diameter, the samaras 2.5–4.0 mm long.

This casuarina is similar to Allocasuarina paludosa.

Taxonomy
Allocasuarina brachystachya was first formally described in 1989 by Lawrie Johnson in the Flora of Australia from specimens collected by Karen Wilson near Tingha in 1980.

The specific epithet, (brachystachya) means "short spike", referring to the male spikes.

Distribution and habitat
This sheoak grows in low open woodland between Emmaville, Guyra and Moredun, on the western edge of the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales.