A lemon tree has been stolen in a bizarre theft that has sparked viral outrage and a few laughs.

CCTV captured a woman casually pulling the tree sapling from a Brisbane family’s front yard in Holland Park West about 4.10am last Friday.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Brisbane lemon tree heist.

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today

Footage shows her driving past the tree, making a U-turn, then parking in front of a neighbouring house before getting out and yanking the tree from the soil.

“It’s the most bizarre thing,” the tree’s owner, Ineke McMahon, told Sunrise.

McMahon said she had just come back home after taking her children to school when she discovered the lemon tree she planted five months ago was gone.

“It was a very surreal moment,” she said.

“I had just taken the kids to school and pulled up back at the house to see an empty hole and a line of soil leading up across the driveway of my neighbour’s property.”

After reviewing the CCTV footage, McMahon said she didn’t recognise the woman and has since reported the incident to police.

She hopes someone will recognise the woman or the car and come forward with information.

McMahon, an executive recruiter, joked the thief might have been someone she didn’t hire.

“I’m hoping that’s not the case, because my address is obviously private but that would be very funny if that was true,” she said.

Investigations continue, and “there have been no arrests or charges made” police said.