Discover Nature at JCU Plants Choosing Plants for Areas Prone to Cyclones RESPONSES OF SOME SPECIES COMMONLY GROWN IN NORTHERN QUEENSLAND

RESPONSES OF SOME SPECIES COMMONLY GROWN IN NORTHERN QUEENSLAND

The following lists and comments are based on observations and reports made by G. Calvert, B. Jackes, J. Roach, G. Stocker et al., N. Tucker, and others and a report to the Cairns City Council on Cyclone “Winifred”. It covers cyclones in Queensland and the Northern Territory since Althea in 1971. This is not a fully comprehensive list as in many cases there were only a few specimens to note. Please look up details of possible height when selecting plants for particular areas. Photos of most of these trees can be found on the James Cook University Flora and Fauna web site.

WIND RESISTANT SPECIES

These may lose leaves and small branches but retain their overall framework. Usually remain standing or leaning.

Scientific name	Common name	Comments
Alstonia actinopyhlla	Milky Pine	Very stable, withstood ‘Tracey’ with minimal damage.
Alstonia scholaris	Milky Pine	Minimal damage, some branches may be broken, good open architecture, trunk is sturdy. Should not be planted close to buildings as at maturity form a large tree. Can be pruned to reduce height.
Archontophoenix alexandrae	Alexander Palm	Flexible stem, collects debris.
Arenga australasica	Native Sugar Palm, native Honey Palm	Excellent in ‘Larry’ and ‘Yasi’ in Bingal Bay area and elsewhere, form a good windbreak and also bind the soil reducing erosion.
Argyrodendron spp.	Tulip Oak	Only limbs lost in ‘Larry’.
Araucaria spp.	Hoop Pine, Norfolk Pine	Lost branches particularly on windward side, but remained standing. Tops sometimes taken out.
Babingtonia virgata	Baeckea	Tall shrub, most have changed name , flexible.
Barringtonia calyptrata	Mango Pine, Cassowary Pine	Good tolerance and leaves quickly resprouted within 3 weeks in Townsville - Yasi.
Bombax ceiba	Bombax, Red Cotton Tree	Open architecture, lost some branches but structure remained.
Brachychiton acerifolius	Illawarra Flame Tree, Flame Tree	Depending on position some of these lose the upper portion but many lost only small branches. The Peanut Tree, Sterculia quadrifida behaved similarly.
Calophyllum inophyllum	Mastwood, Alexandrian Laurel, Beauty Leaf, Beach Touriga	Excellent in all cyclones, on the beach front may lose branches but main stem and main branches remain, soon recovers. Some lost in the tidal surge in Cardwell others looked skeletons but structure remained
Canarium australianum	Mango bark, Scrub Turpentine, Brown Cudgeree	An attractive coastal tree, no casualties observed, only some branches broken
Carallia brachiata	Freshwater mangrove, Carallia	Tolerant of strong winds.
Carpentaria acuminata	Carpentaria Palm	Thin flexible stem, collects debris.
Castanospermum.australe	Black Bean Tree	Trunk stable, may lose leaves and look tatty but soon recovers.
Cinnamomum zeylanicum	Cinnamon	Only a few trees observed, but they lost very few branches.
Cocos nucifera	Coconut Palm	Good if not top heavy with coconuts!
Cordyline spp.	Cordyline	A popular plant to about 2 m tall, flexible, very tolerant of strong winds.
Cryptocarya hypospodia	Laurel	Rainforest tree that has proven to be hardy.
Cupaniopsis anacardioides	Tuckeroo, Cupania Tree	A hardy tree if planted initially as a small tree and allowed to develop a good root system, most failures were due to a poor root system.
Cycas spp.	Cycads	Rarely exceed 3 m tall, no failures observed.
Elaeocarpus grandis	Blue Quandong	Open architecture, may lose some branches and top knocked out – quick growing.
Eugenia uniflora	Surinam Cherry, Brazilian Cherry	Bushy shrub to 4 m tall, edible fruit, very small branches broken only.
Euroschinus falcatus	Ribbon Wood, Maiden’s Blush	A local woodland tree that seemed to ignore the strong winds
Ficus benghalensis	Banyan Fig	Along Townsville foreshores, although they have a flattened side due to normal wind shear, most were very sturdy particularly if the aerial roots were left to increase the stability. Only some branches and leaves on windward side lost . New leaves appearing within 3 weeks.
Ficus rubiginosa	Rusty Fig, Rock Fig	None appeared to be lost on the Townsville Strand and all standing.
Flindersia spp.	Native Ash, Maples, Hickory	Resistance varies with species but most observed to date appear to be very resistant. Flindersia brayleyana is a good species
Fraxinus griffithii	Griffith’s Ash	This small tree appeared to suffer very little damage and continued to flower.
Glochidion spp.	Buttonwood, Little Cheese Tree	Lost small branches and rather battered on windward side with shredded leaves, tall shrub, often bushy.
Gmelina arborea	White Beech, Gmelina	Resistant, little damage observed, this tree is becoming weedy in some areas, so if planted needs to be keep under control.
Gmelina fasciculiflora	White Beech, Gmelina	Resistant, little damage observed.
Gmelina leichhardtii	White Beech	Resistant with minimal damage.
Grevillea baileyana	Bailey’s Grevillea, White Silky Oak	Reported to do well in Bingil Bay during ‘Yasi’, should be planted while small to allow a good root system to develop. Those that failed around Townsville resulted from time of planting to time of ‘Yasi’ being inadequate for a suitable root system to develop. Soil substrate also probably affects.
Harpulia pendula	Tulipwood	Some broken small branches but otherwise resistant.
Lagerstroemia speciosa	Lagerstroemia, Queen’s Myrtle	Good resistance but some recently planted ones did lean.
Leptospermum madidum	Weeping Tea-tree	Excellent tall shrub with fine leaves and flexible branches.
Livistona spp.	Fan Palms	Leaves flexible, become mop-like, very few observed to fall, species dependent.
Lophostemon grandiflorus	Northern Swamp Mahogany	Some branch damage and leaf loss only.
Mangifera indica	Mango	Variable results but in Townsville in both’Althea’ and ‘Yasi’, most seemed to ignore the passage of the cyclone and act as debris collector and wind breaks, occasionally some small limbs lost.
Meleleuca bracteata	Black tea-tree	All standing although some had lost parts of the crown on the windward side.
Melaleuca fluviatilis	Paperbark	Most of these tall paperbarks (M. dealbata, M.leucadendra) were good, a few snapped and the older bark was stripped off.
Melaleuca viminalis	Bottlebrush	Better known as Callistemon, a good flexible shrub or small tree, most were relatively undamaged.
Melaleuca viridiflora	Broad-leafed Paperbark	Some small branches lost.
Millettia pinnata	Pongamia	Leaves lost and small branches survived well, soon resprouting.
Mimusops elengi	Red Coondoo, Mimusops	Small trees, none observed to have fallen.
Nauclea orientalis	Leichhardt Tree	Large specimens lost some limbs and leaves particularly on windward side.
Nerium oleander	Oleander	Multi-stemmed, flexible tall shrub; highly, poisonous so be selective about where you plant it.
Pandanus spp.	Pandanus, Screw Pine	Look like wrung out mops but remain standing.
Phoenix roebelinii	Dwarf Date Palm	A stable dwarf palm.
Pleiogynium timorense	Burdekin Plum	All trees appeared to suffer little damage.
Pterocarpus indicus var. indicus	Burmese Rosewood, Angsana	Only a few casualties, most only lost leaves and small branches even in large supermarket car parks. Variety burmannica, ‘Weeping Rosewood’ did not do well.
Roystonia regia	Cuban Royal Palm	Seems to be good up to category 3, perhaps don’t let it get too big.
Sabal palmetto	Palmetto Palm	These relatively small palms withstood the wind other than looking windswept unless other trees fell on them.
Schotia brachypetala	Kaffir bean Tree	Medium sized tree that loses only small branches.
Scolopia braunii	Scolopia	Small branches.
Syzygium forte	White Lady Apple	Grow naturally near beach front, lose leaves and may be a few branches. Medium sized tree with a dense crown.
Syzygium leuhmannii	Cherry Satinash	This Lilly Pilly and a related species S. fibrosum all survived well. Both are relatively small trees and can be pruned to a suitable height
Swietenia mahogani	Mahogany	A few small branches and wind burnt leaves were the only observations. Compare with the African Mahogany.
Tamarindus indica	Tamarind	Appears to ignore strong wind in most situations.
Tectonia grandis	Teak	Some branches and the top off large trees and leaves the worst for wear also came through well in ‘Tracey’. A young plantation near Silkwood in Yasi showed little effect.
Terminalia catappa	Sea Almond	Most lost or had leaves torn and wind-burnt, but structure remained.
Terminalia spp.	Damson Plum, Terminalia	All species have good open architecture offering little wind resistance but leaves burnt as expected, occasionally branches broken.
Wodyetia bifurcata	Foxtail Palm	Showed good tolerance despite large leaves which appear to be very flexible, may be different if and when it reaches 15 m tall.
Xanthostemon chrysanthus	Golden Penda, Yellow Penda	Very tolerant tree once a good root system developed, best planted as a small to 1 m tall tree. Mass flowering one month later
Xanthostemon verticillatus	Bloomfield Penda	Shrub, very tolerant.