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Allocasuarina robusta

species of plant

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 9, 2023
Entity authorityQ15376743
Source-derived summary

Allocasuarina robusta, commonly known as Mount Compass oak-bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of South Australia. It is a monoecious, rarely a dioecious shrub with erect branchlets up to 200 mm (7.9 in) long, the leaves reduced to scales in whorls of five to seven, the fruiting cones 12–20 mm (0.47–0.79 in) long containing winged seeds about 5.5–6.0 mm (0.22–0.24 in) long.

Description

Allocasuarina robusta is a monoecious, rarely a dioecious shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.2–3 m (7.9 in – 9 ft 10.1 in) and has smooth bark. Its branchlets are more or less erect, up to 200 mm (7.9 in) long, the leaves reduced to scale-like teeth 0.6–1 mm (0.024–0.039 in) long, arranged in whorls of five to seven around the branchlets. The sections of branchlet between the leaf whorls are 7–14 mm (0.28–0.55 in) long and 0.7–1.1 mm (0.028–0.043 in) wide. Male flowers are arranged in spikes 5–45 mm (0.20–1.77 in) long, with 5 to 9 whorls per centimetre (per 0.39 in.), the anthers 0.8–1.2 mm (0.031–0.047 in) long. Female cones are sessile or on a peduncle up to 3 mm (0.12 in) long, the mature cones cylindrical, 12–20 mm (0.47–0.79 in) long and 7–12 mm (0.28–0.47 in) in diameter, the winged seeds black and 5.5–6.0 mm (0.22–0.24 in) long.

Taxonomy

Mount Compass oak-bush was first formally described in 1927 by Ellen Dulcie Macklin who gave it the name Casuarina paludosa var. robusta in the Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia. It was reclassified in 1982 as Allocasuarina pusilla by Lawrie Johnson in the Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Allocasuarina robusta” as species of plant. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA sound reference starting point where classification, measurement and the date of the underlying evidence remain visible. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1927, 1982—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Allocasuarina, robusta and species can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of plant. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 9, 2023. The linked authority identifier is Q15376743. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1927 and 1982.

Critical limits

A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Allocasuarina robusta” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.