Common Name(s): Western sheoak, common sheoak
Scientific Name: Allocasuarina fraseriana (formerly Casuarina fraseriana)
Distribution: Western Australia
Tree Size: 30-50 ft (10-15 m) tall,
2-3 ft (.6-1 m) trunk diameter
Average Dried Weight: 45.3 lbs/ft3 (730 kg/m3)
Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC): .62, .73
Janka Hardness: 1,900 lbf (8,450 N)
Modulus of Rupture: 14,210 lbf/in2 (98.0 MPa)
Elastic Modulus: 1,357,000 lbf/in2 (9.36 GPa)
Crushing Strength: 5,950 lbf/in2 (41.0 MPa)
Shrinkage: Radial: 2.4%, Tangential: 7.9%,
Volumetric: 10.7%, T/R Ratio: 3.3
Color/Appearance: Heartwood is pink to reddish brown. Somewhat well defined sapwood is a light yellowish brown. Very large rays produce a lace-like pattern on flatsawn surfaces (becoming even larger on quartersawn surfaces—see comments below), although ray fleck coloring is not as dark or highly contrasted as other species within the Allocasuarina and Casuarina genera.
Grain/Texture: Grain is straight, with a uniform medium to fine texture and moderate natural luster.
Rot Resistance: Rated as durable; resistant to borers.
Odor: No characteristic odor.
Allergies/Toxicity: Besides the standard health risks associated with any type of wood dust, no further health reactions have been associated with western sheoak. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.
Pricing/Availability: Generally unavailable outside of its natural range within Australia, supplies are limited to hobbyist and specialty applications domestically.
Sustainability: This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices, and is reported by the IUCN as being a species of least concern.
Common Uses: Flooring, furniture, turned objects and other small, specialty wood items.
Comments: The rays in Allocasuarina and Casuarina species are so large, ray fleck is considered to be best displayed on flatsawn surfaces (most lacewood-type woods only achieve a respectable ray fleck when quartersawn). When sheoaks are quartsawn, the ray fleck can become too large and irregularly patterned for smaller pieces.
Not closely related to true oaks (Quercus genus), the etymology of the common name sheoak is ambiguous. Both oaks and sheoaks share a similar ray-flecked appearance on quartersawn surfaces.
Porosity: diffuse porous
Arrangement: exclusively solitary
Vessels: medium to large, few; reddish brown deposits occasionally present
Parenchyma: diffuse-in-aggregates, banded
Rays: narrow and very wide aggregate rays; normal and very wide spacing (respectively)
Lookalikes/Substitutes: The wide rays serve to separate Allocasuarina from most other genera (except for the closely related Casuarina genus). See notes below. Additionally, having exclusively solitary pores (rather than a mixture of solitary and radial multiples) further serves to differentiate sheoaks from other hardwood species.
Notes: Western sheoak, along with most species contained in the Casuarinaceae family, feature aggregate rays that can be extremely wide—perhaps the widest of any hardwood family in the world. Even the larger rays of silky oaks and lacewood in the Proteaceae family pale in comparison to the aggregate rays found in Casuarinaceae.