Conocarpus lancifoliusDamas Tree

The Conocarpus lancifolius, commonly known as the Damas Tree, is a fast, upright evergreen tree from the coastal wadis of Somalia, Djibouti and southern Yemen, and the most widely planted street tree in the Gulf. It carries narrow, lance-shaped grey-green leaves on a dense, strongly vertical frame, and tolerates heat, salinity, alkalinity and hard pruning in combination.

It is the default choice where a green screen or street canopy is needed quickly, and it clips into formal hedges and topiary as readily as it grows into a tree. Its aggressive, far-ranging root system is the single most important factor in siting it, and it should be kept well away from services, paving and structures.

Specifications

• Height10 to 20 metres if left unpruned, and routinely maintained far lower as a clipped hedge or screen
• Width4 to 8 metres
• Native toCoastal Somalia, Djibouti and southern Yemen
• FoliageNarrow, lance-shaped, silvery grey-green leaves held densely on upright branches; evergreen
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilTolerates an exceptionally wide range including sandy, alkaline, compacted and saline soils; performs on ground that defeats most street trees
• LightFull sun
• WaterLow to moderate; drought-tolerant once established and able to use brackish irrigation water
• ClimateThrives in hot arid, semi-arid and coastal regions and carries extreme Gulf summer heat without check

Additional Features

• FormDense, upright, strongly vertical habit; takes hard clipping into formal hedges, screens and topiary
• UsesStreet and boulevard screening, boundary and perimeter hedges, windbreaks, car park screening, rapid green cover on new sites
• SpacingPlant 1 to 1.5 metres apart for a clipped hedge, 3 to 4 metres for a screen line, or 6 to 8 metres as individual trees
• Low MaintenanceUndemanding in soil and water, but not maintenance free: it needs regular pruning to hold a form, and generous set-back from services and paving
• Pest ResistanceRobust and largely free of significant pests and diseases in Gulf conditions
• Salt ToleranceHigh salt tolerance in soil, groundwater and coastal wind, which is a principal reason for its use across the region
• Drought ToleranceStrongly drought-tolerant once established, though growth rate and density both fall on minimal water
• Wind ToleranceWind-firm and effective as a windbreak, holding foliage in exposed coastal positions
• Environmental BenefitsEstablishes fast on degraded and saline ground, and is used for dust suppression and rapid site greening
• VersatilityReads as a hedge, a screen, a windbreak or a tree depending entirely on how it is maintained

The Damas Tree is the Gulf workhorse for fast green cover on difficult ground, and it repays careful siting away from services and paving.