casuarina

British  

/ ˌkæsjʊəˈriːnə /

noun

1. any tree of the genus Casuarina, of Australia and the East Indies, having jointed leafless branchlets: family Casuarinaceae See also beefwood she-oak

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Etymology

Origin of casuarina

C19: from New Latin, from Malay kěsuari _cassowary , referring to the resemblance of the branches to the feathers of the cassowary

Example Sentences

I rolled past casuarina pines, coco plum bushes, limestone sea cliffs and Preacher’s Cave, where the island’s first settlers, English Puritans, gave sermons.

From New York Times • Jan. 30, 2013

Here, jagged chunks of the old aquifer are thrown up on the banks and casuarina juxtaposes with native pine and palmetto.

From Time Magazine Archive

Behind the beaches, beyond a fringe of graceful, feathery casuarina trees, lie the swamps�great stinking pestholes which house most of nature's nightmares: crocodiles, pythons, cobras, and the nasty little Anopheles, the mosquito of malaria.

From Time Magazine Archive

The tranquillity of this secluded spot, and the drooping trees of the casuarina equisetifolia, added to the mournful solemnity of the place.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 19, No. 539, March 24, 1832 by Various

We passed through a scrub of limited extent, and for the first time in these parts we discovered a new species of casuarina.

From Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Volume 1 by Mitchell, Thomas