Beefwood is a group of trees native mostly to Australia. Beefwoods are also called casuarinas and Australian pines. They are narrow trees with drooping branches. The beefwood’s tiny, scalelike leaves grow on small, jointed branchlets, giving the branches a feathery look. The entire needlelike branchlet is shed rather than just the leaves. The name beefwood refers to the color of the tree’s wood, which resembles the color of fresh raw beef.
Beefwood trees can grow to about 70 feet (21 meters) in height. They are widely used as windbreaks and as ornamental trees. Beefwood trees grow rapidly and have become an ecological problem in southern Florida, where they have disrupted native plant and animal communities.
