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Athel Tree

Tamarix aphylla · Tamaricaceae
15m
Mature height
1
Councils: no permit needed
0
Councils: exempt under a height limit
19
Councils: permit required
Athel Tree (Tamarix aphylla) growing in Sydney
Athel Tree · typical mature form

Do you need a permit?

Athel Tree is a protected tree in effectively every council Pro Climbing Tree Services covers. Expect to need a tree permit, or a development application where the property is heritage listed or in a heritage conservation area.

How to identify it

Fine grey green branchlets with tiny scale like leaves that give a feathery pine like appearance without being a conifer. Salt crystals often form on the foliage. Small pink white flower spikes.

Where it grows in Sydney

Scattered through the Inner West, Ryde and western Sydney, planted historically as a windbreak and now recognised as a serious weed.

Common problems

  • Declared a Weed of National Significance
  • Excretes salt from the foliage, degrading the soil beneath
  • Suckers and regrows from fragments
  • Displaces native riparian vegetation

What removal involves

Exempt in Ryde and the Inner West, where it is named on the exempt species lists, and generally supported for removal elsewhere as a weed of national significance. Cut material must not be left on site because it strikes from fragments.

Council permit rules, council by council

Status below is for a tree on private land that has passed the council’s size threshold. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas, significant tree registers, biodiversity mapping and conditions of development consent override every exemption shown here.
Council
Status
What it means
Northern Beaches
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Ku-ring-gai
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Hornsby Shire
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
The Hills Shire
Confirm with Council
Council holds its species exemptions in a document rather than on its website, so confirm this species with Council before treating removal as exempt. Size thresholds apply in the meantime. Official rules
Blacktown City
Permit required
Council does not run a species exemption list. A permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold, and each tree is assessed on its own merits. Official rules
North Sydney
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Willoughby
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Lane Cove
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
City of Ryde
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Hunters Hill
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
City of Sydney
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Inner West
No permit needed
On Council's exempt species list, so no permit is required for removal. Heritage items, heritage conservation areas and significant tree register listings still override the exemption. Official rules
Woollahra
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Waverley
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Randwick
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Bayside
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Georges River
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Strathfield
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Burwood
Confirm with Council
Council holds its species exemptions in a document rather than on its website, so confirm this species with Council before treating removal as exempt. Size thresholds apply in the meantime. Official rules
Canterbury-Bankstown
Permit required
Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. Official rules
Why is Athel Tree a weed of national significance?

It invades inland waterways, excretes salt that degrades soil, and regenerates from fragments. Removal is actively encouraged, and cut material needs proper disposal rather than mulching.

Commonly confused with

Forest Oak
Both have fine feathery foliage that reads as needles from a distance

Related species

Forest Oak (Allocasuarina torulosa) growing in Sydney
Forest Oak
Allocasuarina torulosa
Willow (Salix species) growing in Sydney
Willow
Salix species
African Olive (Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata) growing in Sydney
African Olive
Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata
Bamboo (Bambusa and Phyllostachys species) growing in Sydney
Bamboo
Bambusa and Phyllostachys species

Important note on council rules

This encyclopedia is a practical guide for Sydney property owners, not legal advice. Council tree rules change, and exemptions are frequently overridden by heritage listings, heritage conservation areas, significant tree registers, biodiversity mapping, endangered ecological communities and conditions attached to development consent. Always confirm the current rules with your council for your specific address before any tree work begins, or ask us to check it for you.
Photo by Chris English via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Quick facts

Botanical name
Tamarix aphylla
Also known as
Athel Pine, Tamarisk
Family
Tamaricaceae
Origin
North Africa and the Middle East
Mature height
8m to 15m
Canopy spread
8m to 12m
Growth rate
Fast
Foliage
Evergreen, tiny scale like on fine green branchlets
Typical lifespan
60 years plus
Root habit
Deep and suckering
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Need council approval? We handle the application.

Most councils will not accept a removal application without species identification, photographs and a stated reason. We prepare and lodge the lot, then carry out the work once it is approved. One call, one invoice, no forms to work out yourself.
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