Approved Species List

The following is a list of tree species approved by Parks for sidewalk and lawn planting sites in the public right–of–way in New York City. Superior cultivars may be substituted with the permission of the Agency.

There are two ways to have a street tree planted in front of your home. You can request a free tree or you can plant one on your own. Visit the Street Tree Planting page for more information.

Large Trees: Mature Height Greater Than 50 Feet

Species Name		Form	Growth Rate	Fall Color	Environmental Tolerances	Location Tolerances	Notes/Suggested Cultivars
Scientific	Common	Form	Growth Rate	Fall Color	Environmental Tolerances	Location Tolerances	Notes/Suggested Cultivars
Ginkgo biloba	Ginkgo	Upright	Slow	Yellow	Salt, Drought, High Wind, Pollution and High pH Tolerant	Median Tree, Narrow Growing Space	'Autumn Gold' or 'Presedential Gold'
Quercus spp. 'Fastigiata'	Fastigiata Oak	Upright	Slow	Maroon	none	Median Tree, Narrow Growing Space	Similar tree is Quercus robur
Liquidambar styraciflua	Sweetgum	Pyramidal	Medium	Yellow	Wet Site Tolerant	none	Plant Spring Only, lawn pits only, look for 'Rotundiloba'
Metasequoia glyptostroboides	Dawn Redwood	Pyramidal	Medium	Orange/Brown	Wet Site, Drought, High pH Tolerant	Median Tree, Narrow Growing Space	Can Grow 2 to 3 Feet per Year
Taxodium distichum	Baldcypress	Pyramidal	Medium	Orange/Brown	Wet Site, Salt and High Wind Tolerant	Median Tree, Narrow Growing Space	Ideal For Wet Soils
Tilia cordata	Littleleaf Linden	Pyramidal	Medium	Yellow	Pollution Tolerant	Median Tree	'Greenspire'
Gymnocladus dioicus	Coffeetree	Rounded	Medium	Yellow	Drought Tolerant	none	'Espresso'
Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis	Honeylocust	Rounded	Medium	Yellow	Wet Site, Salt, Drought, High Wind, Pollution, and High pH Tolerant	Median Tree	'Halka'
Liriodendron tulipifera	Tulip Tree	Pyramidal	Medium	Yellow	none	none	'Rotundiloba'
Quercus rubra	Northern Red Oak	Rounded	Medium	Maroon	Salt Tolerant	none	Plant Spring Only
Quercus bicolor	Swamp White Oak	Rounded	Medium	Yellow	Wet Site and Drought Tolerant	Median Tree	Plant Spring Only
Quercus imbricaria	Shingle Oak	Rounded	Medium	Yellow	none	none	Plant Spring Only
Quercus palustris	Pin Oak	Rounded	Medium	Maroon	Drought, High Wind, and Pollution Tolerant	Median Tree	Needs large tree pit
Quercus phellos	Willow Oak	Rounded	Slow	Yellow/Orange	Drought and Pollution Tolerant	Median Tree	Plant Spring Only
Tilia americana	American Linden	Rounded	Medium	Yellow	Shade and High pH Tolerant	none	'Redmond'
Tilia x euchlora	Crimean Linden	Rounded	Medium	Yellow	Pollution Tolerant	none	Pest Resistant
Tilia tomentosa	Silver Linden	Rounded	Medium	Yellow	Salt and Shade Tolerant	none	'Green Mountain'
Zelkova serrata	Japanese Zelkova	Vase–Like	Medium	Red/Bronze	Drought, High Wind, Pollution, and High pH Tolerant	Median Tree, Small Tree Pit(<3ft), and Narrow Growing Space	'Halka'
Asian Long Horn Beetle Quarantine Species – Planting NOT RECOMMENDED in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island
Celtis occidentalis	Hackberry	Rounded	Medium	Yellow	Salt and High pH Tolerant	none	'Magnifica'
Fraxinus americana	White Ash	Pyramidal	Medium	Purple/Maroon	Salt, Drought, Pollution and High pH Tolerant	Median Tree	'Windy City'
Fraxinus pennsylvanica	Green Ash	Pyramidal	Medium	Yellow	Salt, Drought, Pollution and High pH Tolerant	Median Tree	'Patmore'
Platanus x acerifolia	London Plane	Rounded	Medium	Yellow	Wet Site, Salt, Drought, High Wind, Pollution and High pH Tolerant	Median Tree	Tolerates Tough Conditions
Ulmus americana	American Elm	Vase–Like	Medium	Yellow	Wet Site, Salt, Drought, Shade and High pH Tolerant	Median Tree	'Homestead', 'Pioneer', or'Accolade'

Medium Trees: Mature Height 35–50 Feet

Species Name		Form	Growth Rate	Fall Color	Environmental Tolerances	Location Tolerances	Notes/Suggested Cultivars
Scientific	Common	Form	Growth Rate	Fall Color	Environmental Tolerances	Location Tolerances	Notes/Suggested Cultivars
Carpinus betulus	European Hornbeam	Upright	Medium	Yellow	Salt, Drought, Pollution and Shade Tolerant	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft), Narrow Growing Space	'Fastigiata' cultivar is best for narrow spaces
Quercus robur	English Oak	Upright	Slow	Yellow	Salt and High pH Tolerant	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft), Narrow Growing Space	Plant Spring Only
Corylus colurna	Turkish Filbert	Pyramidal	Medium	Yellow	Drought and High pH Tolerant	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	Also known as Turkish Hazelnut
Nyssa sylvatica	Black Gum	Pyramidal	Medium	Red	Wet Site Tolerant	none	Should only be planted in extremly wet sites
Ostrya virginiana	American Hophornbeam	Rounded	Slow	Yellow	Shade and High pH Tolerant	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	Plant Spring Only
Quercus acutissima	Sawtooth Oak	Rounded	Medium	Yellow	Salt and High pH Tolerant	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	Plant Spring Only
Eucommia ulmoides	Hardy Rubber Tree	Rounded	Slow	Yellow	Salt and Drought Tolerant	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	Tolerates Tough Conditions
Styphnolobium japonicum	Scholar Tree	Rounded	Medium	Cream	Drought, High Wind, and Pollution Tolerant	Median Tree, Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	'Regent'
Asian Long Horn Beetle Quarantine Species – Planting NOT RECOMMENDED in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island
Acer rubrum	Red Maple	Rounded	Medium	Red	Wet Site and Shade Tolerant	none	'Redpointe' or 'Red Sunset'
Ulmus parvifolia	Chinese Elm	Rounded	Medium	Yellow	Salt and High pH Tolerant	none	'Allee'
Cercidiphyllum japonicum	Katsura Tree	Rounded	Medium	Yellow/Orange	Wet Site and Shade Tolerant	none	Tree Does Best In Lawn Pits

Intermediate Trees: Mature Height 25–35 Feet

Species Name		Form	Growth Rate	Fall Color	Environmental Tolerances	Location Tolerances	Notes/Suggested Cultivars
Scientific	Common	Form	Growth Rate	Fall Color	Environmental Tolerances	Location Tolerances	Notes/Suggested Cultivars
Koelreuteria paniculata	Goldenraintree	Rounded	Medium	Yellow	Salt, Drought, Pollution, High pH Tolerant	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	Tolerates tough conditions
Maackia amurensis	Amur Maackia	Rounded	Slow	Yellow	Drought and High pH Tolerant	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	Fixes Its Own Nitrogen in the Soil, Late Bloomer
Pyrus calleryana	Callery Pear	Rounded	Medium	Maroon	Salt, Drought, Pollution, and High pH Tolerant	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	Plant sparingly
Asian Long Horn Beetle Quarantine Species – Planting NOT RECOMMENDED in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island
Acer truncatum	Shantung Maple	Rounded	Slow	Yellow	High pH Tolerant	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	Spring foliage is purplish–red and changes to green
Acer campestre	Hedge Maple	Rounded	Slow	Yellow	Salt and High pH Tolerant	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	'Queen Elizabeth'

Small Trees: Mature Height Less Than 25 Feet

Species Name		Form	Growth Rate	Fall Color	Environmental Tolerances	Location Tolerances	Notes/Suggested Cultivars
Scientific	Common	Form	Growth Rate	Fall Color	Environmental Tolerances	Location Tolerances	Notes/Suggested Cultivars
Amelanchier sp.	Serviceberry	Rounded	Slow	Red/ Yellow	Wet Site and Shade Tolerant	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	'Autumn Sunset,' 'Cumulus,' and 'White Pillar'
Cercis canadensis	Eastern Redbud	Rounded	Medium	Yellow	Salt, Shade and High pH Tolerant	Median Tree, Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	Does Best in Lawn Pits
Carpinus caroliniana	American Hornbeam	Rounded	Slow	Yellow/Orange	Shade Tolerant	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	Plant Spring Only
Malus sp.	Crabapple	Rounded	Slow	Red/ yellow	Salt and Drought Tolerant	Median Tree, Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	M. zumi , and 'Donald Wyman,' 'Spring Snow' is seedless
Cotinus sp.	Smoke Tree	Rounded	Slow	Red/Bronze	none	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	'Royal Purple' or 'Grace'
Crataegus sp.	Hawthorn	Rounded	Medium	Maroon	Salt and Drought Tolerant	Median Tree, Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	'Winter King,' 'Princeton Sentry,' or 'Crimson Cloud'
Cornus mas	Cornelian Cherry	Rounded	Medium	Yellow	Salt Tolerant	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	One of the first flowering spring trees
Lagerstroemia indica	Crapemyrtle	Rounded	Slow	Yellow/ Bronze	Drought and Pollution Tolerant	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft), Narrow Growing Space	Tolerates Tough Conditions
Prunus virginiana 'Schubert'	Schubert Cherry	Pyramidal	Medium	Maroon	Salt, Drought, Pollution, and High pH Tolerant	Median Tree, Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	Tolerates Tough Conditions
Syringa reticulata	Japanese Tree Lilac	Rounded	Medium	Yellow	Salt, Drought, and Shade Tolerant	Median Tree, Small Tree Pit (<3 ft), Narrow Growing Space	'Ivory Silk'
Prunus cerasifera	Purpleleaf Plum	Rounded	Medium	Maroon	Salt Tolerant	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	'Atropurpurea,' 'Thundercloud'
Prunus 'Okame'	Okame Cherry	Rounded	Medium	Red/Bronze	none	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	Earliest Blooming Cherry
Prunus padus	European Birdcherry	Rounded	Slow	Yellow/Bronze	none	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	One of the First Trees to Leaf Out in the Spring
Prunus sargentii	Sargent Cherry	Rounded	Slow	Red/Bronze	none	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	'Accolade' is Semi–double Flowering;
Prunus serrulata 'Kwanzan'	Japanese Flowering Cherry	Rounded	Slow	Red/Orange	none	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	Double–flowering
Prunus x yedoensis	Yoshino Cherry	Rounded	Medium	Yellow	none	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	Tree Does Best in Lawn Pits
Asian Long Horn Beetle Quarantine Species – Planting NOT RECOMMENDED in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island
Acer ginnala	Amur Maple	Rounded	Slow	Red	High pH Tolerant	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	Tolerates Tough Conditions
Fraxinus 'Leprechaun'	Leprechaun Green Ash	Rounded	Slow	Yellow	Wet Site and Salt Tolerant	Small Tree Pit (<3 ft)	Good for wet sites under wires