Allocasuarina hystricosa

The specific epithet hystricosa means prickly or thorny, with reference to the spiny protuberances on the cones.[1]

The species grows as a dioecious shrub up to 3 m in height. It has erect branchlets up to 30 cm in length, in contrast to its closest relative A. scleroclada which has drooping branchlets.[1]

The species is known only from the Esperance Plains region, near the southern coast of Western Australia, from Bandalup Hill eastwards to the Eyre Range, to north-east of Ravensthorpe. It occurs on orange, red or brown loam soils on the hills and plains, where there are outcrops of granite or limestone. It is found in mallee shrubland and heathland in association with Acacia ophiolithica, Hakea verrucosa and Allocasuarina campestris. It also forms small dense stands, sometimes with Melaleuca pauperiflora and Gahnia lanigera.[1]