Isaw the most stunning mini-waterfall of green spilling out of a planter box the other day and just had to take a closer look to ascertain that this was not a fake plant, so flawless was its needle-like foliage. It turned out to be a prostrate swamp oak (Casuarina glauca var. Cousin It). The origins of this plant are a mystery, and although it has been in cultivation for many years, it has yet to produce flowers or fruit. It grows to a height of less than a foot but may spread as much as eight feet, and can grow in any soil type, from swampy to bone dry. Planted in the ground, it has a mounding growth habit.

This ground cover is a far cry from its arboreal kin, the Casuarina species known collectively as she-oaks, which may grow as tall as 70 feet. They were once used as street trees in L

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