Erythrina x sykesii · Fabaceae
Coral Tree is exempt in some councils and protected in others, and several exemptions carry a height limit. Check the table below against the council for your address before assuming a permit is not needed.
Thick corky bark studded with sharp conical thorns, and stout brittle limbs. Leaves have three broad leaflets. Bright scarlet flower spikes appear on bare branches in winter and early spring.
Naturalised along creek lines, foreshores and back fences across the Northern Beaches, Eastern Suburbs, Inner West, Georges River and Canterbury-Bankstown.
One of the highest priority removals from a risk perspective and exempt almost everywhere on this list, with Bayside capping the exemption at 5m and City of Sydney at 10m. Note that every offcut must be disposed of properly rather than mulched on site, because fragments strike readily.
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 | 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. |
| Ku-ring-gai | 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. |
| Hornsby Shire | 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| North Sydney | 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. |
| Willoughby | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| Lane Cove | 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. |
| City of Ryde | 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. |
| Hunters Hill | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| City of Sydney | Exempt under 10m | Exempt only below 10m in height. At or above that size a tree permit is required. Heritage listings override the exemption. |
| 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. |
| Woollahra | 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. |
| Waverley | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| Randwick | 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. |
| Bayside | Exempt under 5m | Exempt only below 5m in height. At or above that size a tree permit is required. Heritage listings override the exemption. |
| Georges River | 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. |
| Strathfield | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
| 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. |
| Canterbury-Bankstown | Permit required | Not on Council's exempt species list, so a tree permit is required once the tree passes the size threshold. |
The timber is exceptionally brittle and large limbs fail without warning, often over fences, cars and structures. Combined with the thorns and the tendency to regrow from fallen wood it is a poor tree for any suburban block.
Best not to. Coral Tree strikes readily from cut material, so offcuts should be removed rather than mulched into garden beds.
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 cultivar413 from Fallbrook, California via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Our arborists work across 20 Sydney councils every week. We will identify the species, check the rules for your address and handle the permit application if one is needed.
