Brisbane tree guide

Tipuana tree

Tipuana tipu · also called Tipu tree, Rosewood, Racehorse tree

The tipuana tree is a fast-growing South American shade tree with drooping branches and masses of yellow pea flowers in spring and early summer. Brisbane City Council lists it as pest vegetation, because its spinning, winged seeds spread into bushland, creek banks and roadsides. It is also very big, quickly reaching 15 metres and eventually 20 metres or more, with a similar spread.

Exotic
Brisbane pest plant
15 to 20 m tall
Flowers October to December

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Tipuana, from Wikimedia Commons — Photo: Felagund, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Tipuana at a glance

Height: 15 to 20 m (up to 30 m in the wild)
Growth: Fast
Leaves: Deciduous
Flowers: Yellow, October to December
Origin: South America: southern Bolivia, northern Argentina, southern Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay
Family: Fabaceae

How to identify a tipuana

Tipuana is a large, spreading tree with rough, fissured bark and branches that often droop or weep. Each leaf carries 9 to 29 oval leaflets, 2.5 to 7 cm long, usually rounded or slightly notched at the tip. Clusters of yellow to yellow-orange pea flowers, each about 2 cm across with red marks at the base of the top petal, open in spring and early summer. The fruit is the best clue: a hard seed case with one large, thin wing 4 to 7 cm long that twirls like a helicopter as it drops, turning from green to pale brown.

Growing a tipuana in Brisbane

Tipuana was widely grown as a street and shade tree in the warmer parts of Australia, and it grows fast in Brisbane. That vigour is the problem. It is becoming widely naturalised in south-east and central Queensland, turning up on roadsides, disturbed ground, creek banks, open woodland and urban bushland. It also needs a lot of room, with a crown that can spread as wide as the tree is tall. Grow Me Instead suggests alternatives such as yellow flame tree, white cedar, native frangipani and tulip satinwood.

What to watch out for

Brisbane City Council lists tipuana as pest vegetation and notes that it is on the national Alert List for Environmental Weeds. Its winged seeds spread on the wind and in water, so seedlings appear well away from the parent tree. It is also a very large tree, quickly reaching 15 m and capable of 30 m or more. The City of Gold Coast's planting guidelines restrict its use near bushland, waterways and parks because it is potentially invasive.

Seedlings. The winged seeds travel on the wind and in water, and the tree is becoming widely naturalised in south-east and central Queensland.
Size. It quickly reaches about 15 m and can grow to 30 m or more, with a crown about as wide as it is tall.

Pruning and care

If you are keeping a tipuana for now, rake up and bin the winged seeds rather than letting them blow into garden beds and gutters, and pull up seedlings while they are small. Larger trees are usually controlled by cutting them down and treating the stump, by basal bark spraying or by stem injection, following the herbicide label. Because it grows fast and large, have big limbs over roofs and driveways checked regularly. Pruning or felling a large tipuana is a job for a professional with the right gear.

Tipuana: your questions

Short answers, from the sources below.

Back to the tree guide

Is the tipuana tree a weed in Brisbane?

Yes. Brisbane City Council lists tipuana 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.

How big does a tipuana tree grow?

It grows quickly to about 15 metres, and Grow Me Instead describes it reaching 20 metres with a similar spread. Brisbane City Council says it can grow to 30 metres or more.

When does tipuana flower?

In spring and early summer, when the crown fills with yellow to yellow-orange pea flowers. Brisbane City Council says flowering is mostly in early summer.

What can I plant instead of a tipuana?

For South East Queensland, Grow Me Instead suggests yellow flame tree, brown kurrajong, white cedar, native frangipani, tulip satinwood (deep yellowwood) or tulipwood.