The Australian Pine (Casuarina equisetifolia) is forager friendly though most cities and states consider it an invasive pest. Here we take a look at its more positive aspects.
Most Aussies know them as She Oaks. I love walking to the beach through a forest of them, especially when the needles are weeping and the sun makes them glisten, and they sound like the surf when the wind blows through them. As kids we used to lick the water from the needles on the way back from the beach. Tiny mouthfuls, but enough to take the edge off your thirst. They are one of my favourite Australian natives.
The immature green cones can be chewed on and taste like a not so sweet granny smith apple. Good for getting rid of dry mouth while hiking. The seeds are best collected by breaking off brown cones that have not opened then leaving them in a brown paper bag for a few days to a week. They all just fall out, you pick out the cones and then you've got a bag of seeds ready to be stored. I live in Brisbane and previously Sydney and have done both of these things.
@EatTheWeeds... We used them for the wind breaks in the orange groves in Brevard. 🌲 Have used these trees for everything from fire wood, to the wet needles soaked in salt water to smoke mullet.🐟 Chewed my fair share of needles and swung from tree to tree because of the flexibility up higher. lol 😁 Great information. ☑ Thumbs up..👍
@@DebiSunset Yes, those are the Austrian Pine just South of the ghost town of Shiloh on the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon at Haulover Canal on North Merritt Island, Florida 👍
I'm from the West Palm Beach area, I climbed one that was over 60 feet tall as a kid, one of my favorite memories as a kid. I never knew that you could use them to smoke mullet. Good to know.
We had a three acre ranch in south Florida where I grew up. Just outside my bedroom was a huge Australian Pine. It was BIG. When the wind blew the sound of the air going through the leaves was beautiful. I swear it sounded like a cello being played outside. My favorite tree.
I used to love to hang out on the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge amongst them on a hot Florida day and listen to the wind singing through them. I was devastated when a hard freeze came through and destroyed the trees! So glad they are returning! Good memories !
Glad to see you are still here. I haven't seen anything from you in ages, even though I am subbed for everything. I guess I need to dig and watch more. YT must use FB algorithms.
They make excellent Bushcraft shelter material in the forest next to where I live in NFM. When I cut them down they just send out new growth from the stumps. The root mat cut into sodlike squares makes great cover. The thinner young trees are flexible and are useful for some projects. They make a great canopy and it's always cooler beneath them. And even a little breeze above makes a beautiful mesmerizing sound. I can stand among them, just looking up and listening. But they don't handle strong winds (in our sandy soil) well. Irma was not kind to them. Ian absolutely brutalized them. But even after they've been knocked down most just start growing up new again. Non native, but I like them. Now i find you can eat and drink them? Very cool.
Florida removed them all from several islands in Biscayne bay. The reason they gave was the tree CAUSED erosion. LOL I enjoyed the cool shade and now the islands are almost barren hot unpleasant places. The roots are shallow and the tree is knocked over easily in hurricanes and trees at the shore would dislodge a lot of earth as they fell, but better than most native plants. The wood once dried is so hard I find it difficult to insert a nail. The tree gets flowers as small as a piece of rice where the seeds form later and the wind in the Pines is refreshing. Imagine a fine breeze whistling through all those tiny branches way up in the air. The pine is one of my favorite childhood memories.
Couple of thoughts. The roots are shallow in Florida because they don't go down for water. That is why they are a quick and shallow dig for water in Florida. And of course, because their roots don't go down in Florida they fall over easily in high winds. Their roots break up roads and sidewalks and sewer pipes et cetera. Australia their roots go straight down and deep. They were specifically planted at Haul Over Canal to reduce erosion and on several causeways to the Space Center.
@@greendeane1 And were so beautiful on the skyline going out to the refuge! I loved those forests of them and enjoyed the serenity of listening to the wind whistling through those trees.
Thank you so much for all the information you know and hearing from you again you really have touched my life thank you so much north FL Washington county
Yes there are some around here. I have never had designs on its uses as food or anything else. I have heard the pollen causes strong respiratory allergic reactions. Locals have called it pine lung. Its why I don't venture into Australian Pine stands for very long.
Neat! I always knew they were considered a pest because they suppress anything else from growing around it, and they will crowd out native species. I didn't know that they are at all edible, though. I guess nobody's all bad. Thanks for the interesting video.
SHE OAK. I have a number up my driveway and out the front of ky house and might POSSIBLY be near the place known for these particular plants.... maybe....
Before really accurate Navigational Electronics we would use Casuarina's and (dead reckoning ) also line of sight returning from Ocean or Gulf knowing your compass and angle of sun at certain times of year to make adjustments to a channel. Really sad to see the government slaughter of these multi use beautiful green giants!!
I've heard the water thing for decades, but have never actually seen it done, or met anyone who managed to extract water from an Australian pine. Have you?
They used to be all along the canals here. Now it is very hard to find one because they have all been cut down. They always grew best near water getting water out of the stems was well known but bananas do it better. Never knew any of it was edible but I used it for mulch and cooking wood. great for boiling iguana meat.
Does it grow in cold areas? I thought they were more a warm climate tree. I know we used to see them in Florida, but I've never seen one in Utah. I bet it's also too dry in Utah.
Never noticed seeds in the cones, they must be tiny seeds. I wish you’d find examples of the edible part as that’s what this channel is all about right?
