Photo: nashworld
We haven’t quite finished with seaside plants Like the screw pine and sea vine, there are others that also obdurately refuse to lie down when inundated by sea water.. Take the casuarina tree. Although this tropical pine normally spreads its extensive roots on slightly higher ground, it still grows close enough to the shore-line to have felt the full effects of the tsunami. All along the western seaboard of Phuket , stately groves of casuarinas were saturated by salt water, but unlike trees further inland, they mostly survived, slowly readjusted to the higher levels of salinity in the soil, and then renewed their skyward progress. Happily, they are, and will continue to be, a dominant feature of beach areas such as Rawai, Nai Harn, Patong and other beaches further north, offering welcome protection and shade to picnickers or beach-side vendors.
The casuarina , which occurs from Australia to the Pacific islands has distinctive grey-green, wiry branchlets which are modified to function as leaves. A bit like conventional pine needles. It has a number of major attributes. One, it grows very quickly into a shapely, open tree, and can easily reach thirty meters or so; two, it is able to withstand harsh, and windy conditions as well as salt-laden ones. It can be usefully employed in the cause of coastal dune stabilization, and has root nodules which are nitrogen-fixing and thus add to the fertility of the soil. Remember though, that its resinous needles, unless removed periodically, can inhibit growth beneath its branches, and that its bark is rough to the touch.. A small price to pay for such a useful tree. Not often found in gardens here, it is nonetheless well worth considering if you want a light screen or bushy hedge.
Thus casuarina equesetifolia, to give it its full name , is being used increasingly in non-marine contexts – for example, as a median strip tree, or to line urban streets, since it will not only provide a pleasant and effective barrier, but can be readily pruned into attractive shapes. The young specimens are naturally conical anyway. New foliage after clipping is an attractive shade of light green. Phuket landscapers, take note…
Another shore-line tree, whichsometimes grows right on the dunes down by the screw pines, is the sea almond or terminalia catappa. If your garden is close to the beach, this is an excellent tree to cultivate. Deciduous, it has shiny, bright green leaves, some of which turn an attractive yellow or rich red before falling twice a year. It gets its name of sea almond from the fact that its large nuts are almond-shaped. Wherever the tree grows, these nuts [which are edible] sit on the shore line at high tide, for like those of the screw pine and sea vine, the seeds not only float but are impervious to sea water.. A fast-growing and unusual tree, it grows quickly from seedlings and will reach sizable proportions after only four years.
green galoshes 