Casuarina

Casuarina, commonly known as the tree of sadness, is a semi-evergreen tree species from tropical coasts, very useful as a forest windbreak.

It grows abundantly in Australia, Malaysia, Polynesia and the Hawaiian Islands, the latter as an introduced species, on sandy, xeric, salty, calcareous coasts, as well as in the mountains in areas with heavy rainfall and volcanic soils. The plants are very well anchored in the soil and have allelopathic properties, evidenced by the near absence of plants near the canopy and a layer of their fallen leaves.

The Casuarina is very useful for rural and urban reforestation in the tropics, subtropics and temperate regions.