western she-oak

Allocasuarina mackliniana is a dioecious, or rarely a monoecious shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.5–3 m (1 ft 8 in – 9 ft 10 in) and has smooth bark. Its branchlets are more or less erect, up to 200 mm (7.9 in) long, the leaves reduced to spreading or curved, scale-like teeth 0.7–2 mm (0.028–0.079 in) long, arranged in whorls of seven to ten around the branchlets. The sections of branchlet between the leaf whorls (the "articles") are 7–17 mm (0.28–0.67 in) long, 0.8–1.4 mm (0.031–0.055 in) wide. Male flowers are arranged in thick, dense spikes 10–40 mm (0.39–1.57 in) long, the anthers 0.8–1.5 mm (0.031–0.059 in) long. Female cones are cylindrical and sessile or on a peduncle up to 3 mm (0.12 in) long. Mature cones are cylindrical, mostly 12–22 mm (0.47–0.87 in) long and 8–14 mm (0.31–0.55 in) in diameter, the samaras dark reddish-brown to black, and 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) long.

This sheoak is found from the southern Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia to western Victoria. Subspecies hirtlinea grows in woodland and is restricted to the western parts of the Grampians National Park. Subspecies mackliniana grows in heath from the southern Mount Lofty Ranges to Portland in Victoria and subsp. xerophila grows in heath from near Pinnaroo and Keith in South Australia to the Wyperfield and Little Desert National Parks in Victoria.

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