Research in Context
Tree species with area of origin from the Indian Subcontinent to SE Asia and China, Japan and Korea
Camphora officinarum
Lauraceae
Distribution in Athens. Recent street tree plantings in the boroughs of Chalandri, Petroupoli. Also it is one of the main species at a commercial shopping center in the borough of Aigaleo.
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Biomes subtropical
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Countries and regions
Area of origin Japan (Nansei-shoto), Korea, Taiwan.
Global Distribution (introduced). Australia (New South Wales, Norfolk Islands, Victoria, Queensland ), New Zealand North, India (Assam), Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Cambodia, Caroline Islands, China South-Central, China Southeast, East Himalaya, Fiji, Guinea, Gulf of Guinea Is., Hainan, Laos, Leeward Islands, Marianas, Mauritius, Réunion, Seychelles, Trinidad-Tobago, Vietnam, Honduras, El Salvador, USA (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Hawaii).
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Cities worldwide
Tree inventories around the world. It is found in 100 tree inventories.
OCEANIA: Australia, New Zealand.
AMERICAS: Argentina (Buenos Aires), Brazil, USA (Berkeley, Charleston, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Tampa)
EUROPE: France (Bordeaux, Paris), Ireland, Italy (Florence), Spain (Barcelona, Costa Brava, Valencia)
ASIA: China, Japan (Tokyo), Israel, Taiwan
AFRICA: South Africa
​Performance At well maintained parks and green spaces (with irrigation) they appear to perform well.
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Literature references ARDEM project - INRAE​​
Koelreuteria bipinnata
Sapindaceae
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Distribution in Athens. A remarkable tree that is the focal point in a recent square renovation in the borough of Dafni - Hymettos.
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Biomes temperate
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Countries and regions
Area of origin S. China to N. Vietnam.
Global Distribution (introduced). USA (Alabama)
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Cities worldwide
Tree inventories around the world. In 44 inventories in the countries:
OCEANIA: Australia,
AMERICAS: Brazil, USA (Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oakland, Oklahoma city, San Diego, San Francisco, Washington)
EUROPE: France (Bordeaux, Montpellier, Paris), Spain (Valencia)
ASIA: China, Israel,
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Literature references ARDEM project, INRAE​​
Koelreuteria paniculata
Sapindaceae
Distribution in Athens. It is not an uncommon tree species. However it is absent in most boroughs. Old plantings as street tree rows or as specimen in parks in the boroughs of the city of Athens, Haidari, Ilioupoli, Papagou-Cholargos, Zografou.
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Biomes temperate
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Countries and regions
Area of origin China to Korea.
Global Distribution (introduced).
Europe: Austria, Bulgaria, Czechia-Slovakia, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, NW. Balkan Pen., Romania, Sardegna, Spain, Ukraine.
Asia : India, Japan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.
Americas: USA (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia)
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Cities worldwide
Tree inventories around the world. In 154 inventories in the countries:
OCEANIA: Australia, New Zealand.
AMERICAS: Canada, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, USA (Chicago, Delaware, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, Newport, Oakland, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, Washington).
EUROPE: Austria (Vienna), Croatia (Zagreb), Denmark, France (Bordeaux, Lyon, Montpellier, Paris), Germany (Frankfurt), Hungary (Budapest), Italy (Bologna, Florence, Turin), Netherlands, Portugal (Lisbon), Spain (Barcelona, Valencia), UK (Birmingham, Bristol, London), Sweden (Malmö), Switzerland (Basel, Bern, Zurich), Ukraine.
ASIA: China, India, Turkey (Trabzon), Georgia (Tbilisi).
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Performance At the NTUA campus, they show a remarkable tolerance to hot summer conditions and the ability to self propagate with seed.
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Literature references Sjöman and Anderson (2023). Research on tolerance of tree species to various stress factors, reveals its hardiness (Sjöman, Hirons and Martin 2025). ​​
Ligustrum ovalifolium
Oleaceae
Distribution in Athens. A few trees in streets in the boroughs of Dafni - Hymettos.
Biomes temperate
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Countries and regions
Area of origin Japan
Global Distribution (introduced). Baleares, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, USA (Alabama, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, New York), Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Juan Fernández Is., Mexico Southeast, Réunion, St.Helena, Korea.
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Cities worldwide
Tree inventories around the world. In 37 inventories in the countries:
OCEANIA: Australia,
AMERICAS: Argentina (Buenos Aires), Mexico, USA (Berkeley, Denver)
EUROPE: France (Lyon, Paris), Italy (Bologna), Spain (Barcelona, Valencia), UK (Bristol, London), Portugal (Lisbon)
ASIA: China
AFRICA: Kenya (Nairobi)​​
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Pachygone laurifolia
(syn. Cocculus laurifolius)
Menispermaceae
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Distribution in Athens. A few trees in small parks in the boroughs of the city of Athens, Kallithea, Glyfada. Usually in groups of three to five trees. Also older plantings exist in the National Garden and the NTUA campus.
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Biomes seasonally dry tropical
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Countries and regions
Area of origin Indian Subcontinent to Japan (S. Kyushu) and Philippines.
Global Distribution (introduced). Peru
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Cities worldwide
Tree inventories around the world. A quite unknown species, in only 6 inventories :
AMERICAS: Argentina (Buenos Aires), USA (New Orleans, Pasadena, Santa Monica)
EUROPE: Spain (Barcelona, Valencia)
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Performance It seems to perform rather well as a small tree in the city's maintained landscapes.
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Literature references University of Florida, Landscape Plants - Tree selection database.​​
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Broussonetia papyrifera
Moraceae
Distribution in Athens. It had been planted more often a few decades ago. As a street tree or in gardens in the boroughs of city of Athens, Dafni-Hymettos, Papagou-Cholargos, Zografou. Remarkable specimen trees can be found in the National Garden.
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Biomes temperate
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Countries and regions
Area of origin India to Korea and Indo-China.
Global Distribution (introduced).
​EUROPE: Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kriti, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain.​​
ASIA: East Himalaya, Japan, Jawa, Lesser Sunda Islands, Malaya, Maluku, Nansei-shoto, Ogasawara-shoto, Pakistan, Philippines, Sulawesi, Sumatra, Tadzhikistan, Uzbekistan, West Himalaya.
AMERICAS: Argentina Northeast, Chile Central, Easter Islands, USA (Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas,West Virginia​, Virginia).
OCEANIA: Fiji, Marianas, Marquesas, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Society Islands, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuamotu, Tubuai Is., Uganda, Vanuatu, Wallis-Futuna Islands.
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Cities worldwide
Tree inventories around the world. In 55 inventories:
OCEANIA: Australia, New Zealand
AMERICAS: Argentina (Buenos Aires), United States (Charleston, Newport, Pasadena, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Sacramento, Tampa).
EUROPE: Austria (Vienna), Croatia (Zagreb), Denmark (Aarhus), France (Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lyon, Montpellier, Paris), Hungary (Budapest), Italy (Florence, Turin), Portugal (Lisbon), Spain (Barcelona, Valencia), Sweden (Malmö), Switzerland (Basel, Geneva, Zurich), United Kingdom (Bristol, London),
ASIA: India, China
AFRICA: Kenya (Nairobi),
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Performance They seem to perform well either at parks, private gardens or on the sidewalks. ​​​
Paulownia tomentosa
Distribution in Athens. It is rarely found in the urban green spaces. However, since early 2000's, it has been promoted in Greece for wood production. As a park tree in the borough of Ilioupoli.
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Biomes temperate
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Countries and regions
Area of origin Central & Eastern China, South Korea.
Global Distribution (introduced).
​​EUROPE: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Spain.​​
ASIA : Bangladesh, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
AMERICAS: USA (Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia​).
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Cities worldwide
Tree inventories around the world.
In 82 inventories:
OCEANIA: Australia, New Zealand.
AMERICAS: Argentina (Buenos Aires), Brazil, Canada, Chile, USA (Delaware, Newport, Pasadena, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Washington).
EUROPE: Croatia (Zagreb), Denmark (Aarhus, Copenhagen), France (Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lyon, Montpellier, Paris), Germany (Frankfurt), Hungary (Budapest), Italy (Bologna, Florence, Turin), Netherlands, Spain (Barcelona, Valencia), UK (Birmingham, Bristol, London), Sweden (Malmö), Switzerland (Basel, Bern, Geneva, Zurich).
ASIA: China, Japan (Tokyo), Turkey (Trabzon).
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Performance It seems to perform well at open spaces in parks. At a recent conference in Athens, it has been suggested to be further used in the landscape of urban green spaces and parks.
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Literature references 1st Panhellenic Conference on Green Spaces in the Urban Environment. 2024, November 22 & 23. Agricultural University of Athens. ​​​​
Cordia myxa
Distribution in Athens. It is a vary rare specimen tree. In the boroughs of Dafni Hymettos and the city of Athens.
Biomes seasonally dry tropical
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Countries and regions
Area of origin S. Iran to Indo-China.
Global Distribution (introduced).
​​EUROPE: East Aegean Islands​
ASIA : Gulf States, Iraq, Lebanon-Syria, Lesser Sunda Islands, Maluku, Oman, Türkey.
AMERICAS: Trinidad-Tobago, USA (Florida​).
OCEANIA: Fiji, Marianas, Queensland, Western Australia
AFRICA: Algeria, Benin, Burkina, Cameroon, Comoros, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rodrigues, Senegal, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe.
​Cities worldwide
Only one presence in urban tree inventories around the world.
ASIA: Iran (Ahvaz).​
It is to be noted that it is cultivated in temperate and tropical areas for its edible fruit and other uses (Useful Tropical Plants Database).
Citrus japonica
Distribution in Athens. It is a shrub or small tree that is occasionally used in home gardens. Also it is cultivated in some parts of Greece for its fruit. In some parks in tree rows. In the park of Alsos Aegaleo.
Biomes subtropical
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Countries and regions
Area of origin SE. China to Hainan.
Global Distribution (introduced).
​ASIA : India (Assam), Japan, Korea, Vietnam
AMERICAS: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Trinidad-Tobago, USA (California​).
AFRICA: Gambia​
​Cities worldwide
Tree inventories around the world.
In 23 inventories:
OCEANIA: Australia.
AMERICAS: Argentina (Buenos Aires, Puerto Iguazú, Santiago del Estero), USA (Claremont, New Orleans, San Francisco, Tampa).
EUROPE: Spain (Costa Brava), UK (Camden)
ASIA: China, Iran (Rasht,Sari), Israel (Tel Aviv), Singapore.
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Performance It seems to perform well at open in well maintained parks and home gardens.​
Chimonanthus praecox
Images source: Vaso Timonidou 2025
Distribution in Athens. It is a shrub or small tree. Extremely rare in Athens. Observations in a private garden in the borough of Hymettos-Dafni and at the Diomedes Botanic Garden.
Biomes temperate
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Countries and regions
Area of origin China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast.
​Cities worldwide
Tree inventories around the world.
In 21 inventories:
OCEANIA: Australia (Hobson Bay).
EUROPE: Italy (Bologna, Florence), France (Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lyon, Paris ), Switzerland (Geneva), Sweden (Malmö)
ASIA: China (Beijing, Chengdu, Changsha, Chongqing, Guiyang, Hangzhou, Hefei, Kunming, Nanchang, Shanghai, Wuhan).​
Ginkgo biloba
Ginkgoaceae
Image source: Vaso Timonidou (December 2025) Alsos Kifissias
Distribution in Athens.
It has been planted in the Japanese Garden of Athens. It is also found in the Diomedes Botanic Garden. Occurences in the boroughs of Kifisia and Glyfada. It is expected to be found in some private gardens as it is provided by local large plant nurseries.
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An impressive specimen tree is located in the park of Kifissia (images above). Its first planting and establishment has been recently described by Nikolaos (Nick) Thymakis, award-winning Landscape Project Manager and Designer:
"It had come from Vienna in 2005, as a seedling sourced from the 1st Gingko to be introduced in Europe (Vienna Botanical Garden - director Dr. Michael Kiehn) and it was planted at the inauguration of the Kifissia Flower Show (2005 edition), by myself, the mayor of Kifissia Nikos Chiotakis, the president Eleftheria Liapaki and the Minister for Agriculture Evangelos Basiakos..." (Thymakis 2025).
Biomes It grows primarily in the temperate biome.
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Countries and regions
Area of origin Southeast China
Global Distribution (introduced).
ASIA: China North-Central, China South-Central, Japan, Korea
EUROPE: Austria, Romania
AMERICAS: USA (Illinois)
​Cities worldwide
Probably the most cosmopolitan of urban tree species. At the GUTI database which congregates a total of 473 tree inventories worldwide, its presence is documented in 217 cities. ​
REFERENCES
RESEARCH PROJECTS
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ARDEM project, ​INRAE. 2022
Jardin Botanique Villa Thuret.
“Arbres de demain - Fiches espèces.”Created on December 23, 2022. Modified on March 25, 2024.
https://jardin-thuret.hub.inrae.fr/actualites/presentation-des-fiches-especes
​BOOKS
Sjöman, Henrik, and Anderson, Arit 2023. The Essential Tree Selection Guide: For Climate Resilience, Carbon Storage, Species Diversity and Other Ecosystem Benefits. London: Filbert Press
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PAPERS
Henrik Sjöman, Hirons, A. and Kevin (2025). Species-specific evaluation of growth and environmental tolerance for ecosystem services – evaluation from a botanic tree collection. Urban Ecosystems, 28(3).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-025-01725-3
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SOCIAL MEDIA
Thymakis Nikolaos, (2025 December 10), as a comment on a photo posted on Facebook of Anna Salma. Regarding a beautiful Ginkgo biloba located at the park of Kifissia.
Salma Anna. “A sun ray in Kifissia" Facebook, 10 December 2025,
Anna Salma' - Μια ηλιαχτίδα στην Κηφισιά 🥰💛 | Facebook
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WEBSITE DATABASES
Ufl.edu. (2015). Snailseed - Tree selection - Landscape plants - Edward F. Gilman - UF/IFAS. [online] Available at: https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/Pages/coclau/coclau.shtml
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Useful Tropical Plants. (2017). Cordia myxa.
https://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Cordia+myxa
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CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
1st Panhellenic Conference on Green Spaces in the Urban Environment. Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), Athens, Greece.
Spanos, K., Gaitanis L., Chavenetidou M., Korisianos, P. (2024, November 22–23). The use of Paulownia spp in the urban and periurban green spaces.