Nine trees are finalists in the 2026 National Trust Victorian Tree of the Year competition.
A woman whose bunya pine is a finalist says her tree is a landmark in her street.
Voting in the competition opens today and the winner will be announced in late October.
The owner of a central Victorian home with a Victorian Tree of the Year finalist says it is a "magnificent" landmark.
The bunya pine in Kathy Whiteman's front yard in the town of Maldon is one of nine finalists in this year's National Trust contest.
"I say to people, 'When you see the big tree, that's my house,'" Ms Whiteman said.
However it is a complicated relationship between the home owner and the tree, which fruits every three years and drops large cones.
"The ones I've had weigh between 5 kilograms and 7 kilograms. You can hear them dropping down through the branches and then, bang, as it hits the ground," she said.
"I have to wire the front gate shut when it's fruiting season and not go underneath it. It could kill you to have one drop on your head.
"It's a messy plant, but it's beautiful."
It is one of two finalists from the same shire. An Indian Bean Tree at the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens, which is already home to the 2021 Victorian Tree of the Year, is also in the running.
Members of the public nominated trees on the National Trust Victoria's Significant Tree Register, and they were then whittled down by an expert committee.
The winner will be decided by a public vote, which opens from 9am today for one month.
"Trees really need our protection," Justin Buckley, executive manager of gardens and landscapes at the National Trust Victoria, said.
"We want to raise awareness that a lot of care has gone into a tree over 100 years. It's not just good luck that it's still there."
The other finalists in regional Victoria are a gingko tree in Geelong Botanic Gardens, a myrtle beech at Apollo Bay and a Canary Island pine at Ballarat.
From Melbourne, there is a golden elm at South Yarra, a smooth-barked apple myrtle at Prahran, a redwood forest at Warburton and a flooded gum at Carlton North.
"In our view they're really irreplaceable, especially some of these trees in urban areas where you would just never get the chance to plant a tree of that size again," Mr Buckley said.
"We're hoping people think of the trees and what's best for them as they're doing works to buildings and roads around them."
Ms Whiteman did not nominate her tree but said she would be happy to see it win and help to ensure its protection, while also bringing more people to Maldon to see it.
"Maldon's a lovely town and I've got a lovely tree," she said.