Native Plants

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Wednesday - March 20, 2013

From: Albuquerque, NM
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Laws, Trees
Title: Trees prohibited or regulated in Albuquerque
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Are there certain trees that not not allowed to be planted in Albuquerque, New Mexico because of city regulations?

ANSWER:

Yes, there are trees that are restricted in Albuquerque to control their allergenic pollen. You can read the 1994 Albuquerque Pollen Control Ordinance and the Amendment to the Pollen Ordinance (2004). The City of Albuquerque also has a webpage titled "Restricted Trees for Pollen Control."

Here are the restricted trees according to the 2004 amendment to the pollen ordinance. If you click on the link you can see the North American native members of the genus in our Native Plant Database. Non-native members of the genera are also prohibited:

All trees in the Genus Cupressus (cypress trees)
All male trees in the Genus Juniperus (juniper/cedar trees)
All trees in the Genus Morus (mulberry trees)
All trees in the Genus Populus (cottonwoods and poplars) with the exception of: P. fremontii var. wizlizenii [syn=P. deltoides ssp. wislizeni] (Rio Grande cottonwood), P. tremuloides (quaking aspen) and P. acuminata (lanceleaf or mountain cottonwood)
All trees in the Genus Ulmus with the exception of: U. parvifolia (dioecious Chinese elm), U. americana 'Ascendens' (American elm), U. glabra 'Horizontalis' (Wych elm), U. minor 'Gracilus' (I could not find any information about this last one; but then neither could the City of Albuquerque, apparently). All these elm exceptions are reportedly resistant to Dutch elm disease.