Tallahassee, FL Tree Protection: Protected Tree Species (2026)

Section 5-83(a) designates the live oak (Quercus virginiana) as the city's official shade tree and the dogwood (Cornus florida) as its official flowering tree. Legal protection goes further than symbolism: Sec. 5-83(d)(1) protects any tree of two inches DBH or greater before development begins. During and after development, protection extends to any dogwood four inches DBH or greater, any hardwood or longleaf pine 12 inches DBH or greater, any tree 18 inches DBH or greater, any tree four inches DBH or greater within the lot perimeter zone, any patriarch tree, any tree inside a canopy road tree protection zone, any tree in a wetland, any tree planted to satisfy the code's replanting or landscaping requirements, and any exceptional specimen tree identified by the city urban forester, a certified arborist, or the city's environmental biologist.

Within the Multi-Modal Transportation District, patriarch trees get double tree credits and debits, reflecting their higher priority for preservation under Sec. 5-83(e). None of these classes may be removed, impacted or damaged without an approved environmental management permit; the growth management director reviews removal requests against the debit criteria in Sec. 5-83(e)(1), and the environmental board hears appeals of denied applications. The protection runs with the critical protection zone around each tree, a radius of one foot for every inch of trunk diameter, which must be fenced off during construction under Sec. 5-83(g).