36 CityTREES
species show the most notable promise; the three-star
frontrunner was lancewood (Dissiliaria baloghioides),
a tall tree native to dry rainforests of Queensland.
Lancewood continues to meet all the species
selection criteria that Brisbane wanted: It is cli-
mate-resilient, attractive, provides dense shade, grows
single-stem for low branch clearance, adds to the
City's tree diversity, is non-invasive, and is low-main-
tenance—i.e., doesn't produce large or messy fruit
and doesn't routinely produce epicormic shoots
from its base or from damaged canopy wood.
"The lancewood trees have been so successful
across the board," Gare says. "They have a beau-
tiful form and good-sized canopy and have sailed
through the last 20 years of El Niño, a driver of
drought, and La Niña, a driver of excessive rainfall and
flooding. Lancewood only needs formative pruning
at year 5 to 7 but then have proved quite low main-
tenance. Of course, as with any species, you need
good quality nursery stock as your starting point."
Findings shared by other SEQ LGAs at the Forum
were equally interesting. In the City of Moreton Bay
(just north of Brisbane) two trial species—dwarf lem-
on-scented gum (Corymbia citriodora 'Scentuous') and
dwarf plunkett mallee (Eucalyptus curtisii) earned 3/3
stars for climate resilience—but also as habitat trees
for koalas. Sunshine Coast Council, located north of
Brisbane, gave anbinik (Allosyncarpia ternata)—a species
native to the Northern Territory—3/3 in early trials
for its climate resilience, including its ability to resist
termites and cyclones. The Scenic Rim Council, >>
Treenet's Urban Tree Trials Database is a relatively new project for
the organization and currently has about 2200 site reports.
