Wood Species Guide
Australian Pine
Casuarina equisetifolia
Also called: Beach She-oak, She-oak, Horsetail Casuarina, Whistling Pine, Ironwood, Beefwood
About the name “Australian Pine”
Sold as ironwood and beefwood too, but both names are also used for many unrelated hard woods.
What Australian Pine looks like
Heartwood is a light reddish brown to a darker brown, often with a pinkish tone. Sapwood is paler. Despite the name it is not a pine at all and has no resin.
Grain and texture
Grain is straight to slightly interlocked with a fine to medium texture. Big rays can show attractive fleck on quartersawn faces, similar to the she-oaks of Australia.
Working Australian Pine: planing, cutting and gluing
Very hard and heavy, and it is notorious for splitting and checking as it dries. Fresh wood is easier to cut than dry wood. Carbide tooling and pre-drilling are a must.
Finishing Australian Pine: oil, film finishes and epoxy
Once dry and stable it sands to a smooth surface and takes oil and film finishes well. Seal checks before any epoxy work.
Durability, stability and Florida humidity
Hard and dense but not very rot resistant in ground contact. The biggest challenge is drying it without severe cracking, so seal the ends right away and dry it slowly.
Shop notes from our Fort Myers shop
Australian pine is everywhere on Florida beaches and causeways, and it is a Category I invasive, so removing it is a good thing. The catch is that the wood checks badly, which is why most of it ends up as firewood. Small pieces dried slowly make tough turning blanks and handles. We would not plan a big table around it unless you are ready for a lot of crack filling.
Common uses for Australian Pine
Firewood, turning blanks, tool handles, small craft pieces and posts.
Sustainability and CITES status
Not listed in the CITES Appendices. In Florida it is a Category I invasive species on the Florida Invasive Species Council list, so using removed trees is an environmental plus.
Safety and toxicity
- No common reactions reported
Few reports. No wood dust reactions are documented beyond ordinary irritation. The tree is a Domestic Invasive in Florida.
- In the shop
- Normal dust collection + mask when sanding
- Food contact
- Use with care for cutting boards, bowls and utensils
General information, not medical advice. See a doctor if you have a reaction.
No specific reactions are widely documented. Use normal dust precautions.
Australian Pine in stock now
Ask us. We can often source it.
We don't have Australian Pine listed online right now, but new slabs and lumber come in all the time and not everything makes it to the website. Tell us what you're building and we'll check our racks and suppliers.
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