casuarina

See also: Casuarina

English

A casuarina

Etymology

From the genus name, ultimately a derivative of Malay kasuari (“cassowary”), from the resemblance of the leaves to the bird's feathers.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌkæsu.əˈɹiːnə/, /ˌkæsu.əˈɹaɪnə/

Noun

casuarina (plural casuarinas)

1. Any of numerous trees, of the genera Casuarina and Allocasuarina, having segmented needle-like leaves; especially the ironwood and beefwood; she-oak.
   • 1894, Ivan Dexter, Talmud: A Strange Narrative of Central Australia, published in serial form in Port Adelaide News and Lefevre's Peninsula Advertiser (SA), Chapter III, [1]

     […] the noise made by the beating of the waves on the land and the sighing of the wind amongst the pendulous leaves—or rather pendant fringe of the casuarina or she-oak, those aeolian harps of the Australian bush, almost drowned their voices.

   • 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 134:

     Lower down, in a little reach of the lagoon there grew a clump of casuarinas, those timid isolates that withdraw from other trees, selecting their own privacy, which is for ever whispering secrets up in their feathery fronds, set in motion by the slightest breeze.

Derived terms

• casuarina cockatoo

Translations

trees of the genus Casuarina

• Finnish: kasuariina (fi)
• Icelandic: kasúarínatré n
• Malay:

  Jawi: ارو / رو, چمارا

  Rumi: eru / ru (ms), cemara

Spanish

Noun

casuarina f (plural casuarinas)

1. casuarina

Further reading

• “casuarina”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014