Wellesley Hills, Maine — Municipal arborists from around the country have selected the Ivory Silk Japanese Tree Lilac as the 1997 Urban Tree of the Year. The competition is designed to showcase the tree that best meets the Society of Municipal Arborists' definition of an excellent urban tree, one which will tolerate urban soil, air pollution, salt and other city ills and is disease- and pest-resistant. The tree lilac grows to a height of 30 feet, blooms in the summer, transplants well and is resistant to mildew, borers and scale.

The society does not intend to suggest that the winning tree is the perfect urban tree, according to Leonard Phillips, editor of City Trees. It merely wants to provide publicity for trees that may not be well known outside arborists' circles but are excellent for urban sites.