diff --git a/simgear/scene/tgdb/TreeBin.cxx b/simgear/scene/tgdb/TreeBin.cxx
index 56c5d415..17da8374 100644
--- a/simgear/scene/tgdb/TreeBin.cxx
+++ b/simgear/scene/tgdb/TreeBin.cxx
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ struct AddTreesLeafObject
 {
     void operator() (LOD* lod, const TreeBin::Tree& tree) const
     {
-        Geode* geode = static_cast<Geode*>(lod->getChild(rand() % SG_TREE_FADE_OUT_LEVELS));
+        Geode* geode = static_cast<Geode*>(lod->getChild(int(tree.position.x() * 10.0f) % lod->getNumChildren()));
         addTreeToLeafGeode(geode, tree.position);
     }
 };