Casuarina equisetifolia
beach sheoak
(c) Douglas Goldman, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Douglas Goldman · licence
Family: Casuarinaceae · Type: Tree
Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes
Casuarina equisetifolia (beach sheoak) is a California tree in the Casuarinaceae family, recognized by Only Casuarina in California.
beach sheoak is a naturalized tree found in coastal regions of southern California in sandy beach and dune habitats near the ocean. Flowering from September to March, this tree produces inconspicuous reddish flowers in small terminal clusters. Growing to heights of 15 to 25 meters with spreading, drooping branches, it forms a distinctive open-crowned tree with green to gray-green segmented branchlets resembling horsetail rushes. Its leaves are reduced to tiny teeth or scales arranged in whorls around slender green photosynthetic branchlets that look like needle-like stems. The fruit is a small woody cone containing winged seeds that aid in wind dispersal.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: Only Casuarina in California
Conservation status
Cal-IPC Yes
How to tell it apart
Differentiators are not available at this time.
Frequently asked questions
What plant family does Casuarina equisetifolia belong to?
Casuarina equisetifolia is in the Casuarinaceae family, genus Casuarina.
Is Casuarina equisetifolia invasive in California?
Casuarina equisetifolia is listed by Cal-IPC with an invasiveness rating of Yes.
More California species
This species has no close relatives in our California data — here are other species to explore.
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.