"They are in Casuarinaceae... Correct and the Casuarinaceae is in the order Fagales, which includes the Fagaceae(Oaks, Beech, Chestnuts, etc.). The common name for the Casuarinaceae is the She-Oak family. They are very convincing as conifer look-a-likes. They even produce what superficially looks like Pine cones from a distance. I forgot to mention, very cool photos. Thanks for sharing them!

Hi back to you! (Your hummer didn't visit this year BTW) The Laurel Oak is a native tree. I found this line on the UF site which "might" give you an out if the tree is removed... sounds like a safety hazard to me. "Frequently planted as street trees, they are unsatisfactory due to the short life span and constantly falling twigs and limbs." Good luck finding your answers!

The web is full of em, just do google searches under things like "beach erosion". I've owned a Gulf front house for 20 years and out of necessity have studied the problem for that whole time (I am also a civil engineer so have some technical background). I can tell you that beach erosion is a local problem, that is what happens to your beach is unique to your specific spot. The stuff on the internet is more general or about other locations and may or may not help you. It is a good way to get educated on the subject. The hands down best way to protect a house from beach erosion is a solid well engineered rock wall. But in Florida they are no longer allowed, except in certain circumstances, and for good reason, a rock wall in front of your house can increase erosion of your neighbors. Groins (call jetties in Florida) are very effective, but have been totally outlawed in Florida, for similar reasons, they can just displace the erosion down the beach. I am not so sure they should be totally banned, but they are. Beach re-nourishment is another option, but it is expensive and can only be done by a community over miles of beach, not something the individual homeowner can do. Vegetation can help, but there are limits as to how much. Sea oats are the standard, and sea oats do a good job of dune building. But I can tell you from personal experience they do not have a good root structure and wash away quickly in a hurricane storm surge. There is another beach grass, I don't know what it is called, it's about the same size as a sea oat but the seeds look different. It has a bit better root structure, but I have never seen them for sale, the ones on my beach just came up. I keep my beach from the house to the water very well fertilized, I use 10-10-10 fertilizer every month or two. As a result I have a lot more beach vegetation than my neighbors, and it does catch more wind blown sand. I just started doing this a few years ago so it is yet to be tested in a storm. And as I have said here I am cultivating an Australian pine hedge between my house and the Gulf as a barrier. I am sure all this will help, just not sure how much. Sand fences can help too. Problem is the real causes of beach erosion are in the water, currents and offshore sand sources and sinks, not what happens on the land. So all the vegetation and sand fencing in the world can't have a huge impact, it just slows the erosion a bit. Good luck, on the beach in Bay County is nice!

I found all four with descriptions, drawings and photos on the Sydney Royal Botanical Gardens website. 1. Casuarina equisetifolia 2. Casuarina cunninghamiana 3. Casuarina glauca 4. Casuarina cristata