Beauty and the beast: Coffs Harbour’s lethal African tulip trees

There’s no tiptoeing through the tulip trees in Coffs Harbour as they are an ecological menace. A local handyman is pushing for action.

Coffs Harbour is a blaze of summer colour as its African tulip trees bloom - but one local man is pushing for them to be felled as they pose a risk to native bees and elderly residents.

Big and showy with striking large red flowers, the tulip trees dotted across the city are the floral equivalent of the cane toad - an introduced specie with a nasty surprise in the tail.

Michael Sallustio said nectar from the trees can be lethal for native stingless bees.

“These are a small black bee that many wouldn’t even notice, or think that they are a fly - but they are the type of bees often associated with the popular insect hotels,” Mr Sallustio said.

“Plus these trees drop flowers everywhere and they are quite large - so they are a slip hazard for elderly residents walking underneath them.”

The African tulip trees are something of a signature planting in Castle St in the heart of the CBD near council chambers.

Mr Sallustio - who operates The HandyMan Hive business - is sharpening the saw for a war on the trees, and hopes to get Coffs Harbour City Council on side.

But first he hopes residents will be educated about the menace posed by the trees.

“Some of these are street trees on council land, but I’ve also spotted plenty in people’s front yards and back yards. They are a good looking tree,” he said.

They are good looking though. A striking bloom on an African tulip tree in Coffs Harbour. Picture: Chris Knight.

Mr Sallustio said he plans to doorknock people who have a tulip tree in their yard - and let them know that all is not okay.

He said he will then offer to drop the tree, and provide customers with a voucher so they can get a free replacement tree at a local nursery.

“I’d like them to replace it with a native like a grevillea which will attract birds and bees - but if they want to get a tropical tree then they can,” Mr Sallustio said.

As a city which hangs its hat on “eco tourism”, he said Coffs could take a stand and banish the tulip trees.

The African tulip tree is a common sight throughout NSW, Queensland, the Northern Territory and on Christmas Island, and the introduced species is already considered a significant environmental weed across these states.

Courtney Irish, an entomologist from the University of Queensland, said it can take up to 24 hours for the bees to die after ingesting the toxic nectar – which is a concern because they can spread poison to their hives.