Brisbane tree guide

Pongamia

Pongamia pinnata · also called Pongam, Indian beech, Poonga oil tree

Pongamia is a tree, usually 8 to 12 metres tall, with glossy compound leaves and long sprays of pink, mauve or white pea flowers. It is native to northern Australia and tropical Asia, but around Brisbane it grows outside its natural range and has naturalised. Brisbane City Council lists it as pest vegetation, so you generally don't need a council permit to remove it, as long as the work doesn't affect a significant landscape tree or damage protected plants nearby.

Australian native
Brisbane pest plant
8 to 12 m tall

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Pongamia flowers up close — Photo: Tatiana Gerus from Brisbane, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Pongamia at a glance

Height: 8 to 12 m (up to 22 m in the wild)
Leaves: Semi-deciduous
Flowers: Pink, purple, white, All year
Origin: Northern Australia, from the Top End and Cape York to about Rockhampton, plus tropical Asia and the Pacific
Family: Fabaceae

How to identify a pongamia

Pongamia has smooth grey or grey-brown bark. Each leaf is 5 to 25 cm long and made of 5 to 7 shiny, broad leaflets, with one leaflet at the tip. New growth is bright green and sometimes reddish. Pea-shaped flowers 10 to 18 mm long, in pink, light purple or white, open in long clusters along the branches. Flat, oval pods 3 to 8 cm long follow, ripening brown. The tree can lose some or most of its leaves for a while, so it isn't always fully evergreen.

Pongamia leaves — Photo: Steve Fitzgerald, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Growing a pongamia in Brisbane

Pongamia grows naturally from the Top End and Cape York south to about Rockhampton, mostly along beaches, dunes and rivers. Around Brisbane it is outside that range: the Queensland Herbarium records it as naturalised in the Moreton district, and Brisbane City Council treats it as pest vegetation. If you're choosing a new tree, pick one that isn't on the council's weed list. Large existing trees near houses or power lines are a job for a qualified arborist.

What to watch out for

Pongamia is on Brisbane City Council's pest vegetation list, and the Queensland Herbarium records it as naturalised around Brisbane. CSIRO notes it has been used in Australia as a traditional fish poison, so don't eat any part of it and keep children from chewing the pods or seeds.

Poisonous parts. Pongamia has been used in Australia as a traditional fish poison, so don't eat any part of the tree.
Seedlings. Brisbane City Council lists it as pest vegetation, and the Queensland Herbarium records it as naturalised in the Brisbane area.

Pruning and care

Because Brisbane City Council lists pongamia as pest vegetation, it's best not to plant new ones. If you are keeping an existing tree for now, prune out dead or damaged wood, keep limbs clear of the roof, and pull up any seedlings while they're small. For larger trees, the council's weed guide lists cut stump, basal bark and stem injection as control methods, and that work on a big tree is a job for a qualified tree service.

Pongamia: your questions

Short answers, from the sources below.

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Is pongamia a weed in Brisbane?

Yes. Brisbane City Council lists pongamia as pest vegetation, and the Queensland Herbarium records it as naturalised in the Brisbane area.

Is pongamia native to Australia?

Yes, to northern Australia. It grows wild from the Top End and Cape York south to about Rockhampton, but it isn't native to the Brisbane area.

Is pongamia poisonous?

Treat it as unsafe to eat. CSIRO notes that pongamia has been used in Australia as a traditional fish poison.

Do I need a permit to remove a pongamia in Brisbane?

Brisbane City Council lists pongamia as pest vegetation, so you generally don't need a council permit to remove it, as long as the work doesn't affect a significant landscape tree or damage protected plants nearby.

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Sources and credits

Photo: Tatiana Gerus from Brisbane, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Second photo: Steve Fitzgerald, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

This profile updates sheet 23 of the plant profile booklet made for Colourful Tree Lopping in 2013. We checked every fact against current sources and rewrote it for the guide.

Checked October 2026. Weed listings and council rules change: check the council's and the Queensland Government's pages before you act.