3102 Castro             Glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum), South China, ***Cross Castro carefully to Laidley Street***, Laidley Street, Castro to Roanoke, southeast side, 7. 138 Madrone         Purple-leaf plum (Prunus cerasifera), Eurasia (formerly SF’s most planted tree; an early leaf drop is common in the drier sandy soils of western SF), 45. asplenifolius), CA’s Channel Islands, except Catalina; CA native (a particularly fine specimen). Numbered trees are labeled with common and scientific names and country of origin, all written in white chalk on the sidewalk; accompanying numbers, in blue, run from 1 to 59. I believe in “right tree in the right place”, so red gums doesn’t belong everywhere. Arranged by geographic origin, or in other distinct categories (succulents, palms, oaks), the plants offer a tour of the world’s flora, with an emphasis on the mediterranean-climate regions of southern Europe, North Africa and the Near East, California, central Chile, southwestern South Africa, and portions of South and Western Australia. Eriobotrya deflexa), Southern China and Vietnam, 27. It’s unlikely that we’ll be dealing with snow around here, and nighttime usually brings a halt to tree touring, but if you find yourself anxious to get out on a rainy day this winter, we strongly urge you to make the trip to Salesforce Park and enjoy this bold, horticulturally rich garden in the sky. Monterey cypress tree (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa). 3503 - 23rd            Knife-leaf acacia (Acacia cultriformis), Eastern Australia, 38. 35. Hundreds of rare plants once thrived here; many survive his years of collecting. This tree tour ends at the corner of Alabama and 20th streets, across the street from its beginning and right next to the Atlas Cafe, now open for sidewalk seating. The Urban Forestry Council (UFC) works with key urban forest stakeholders, including San Francisco Public Works and Friends of the Urban Forest to create lists of recommended trees to plant in San Francisco. Stroll Calaveras Big Trees State Historic Park in solitude. Along the east side of Chase Center, the street is lined with more cajeput trees, seen several times earlier on this walk. 4232 - 23rd             Evergreen pear (Pyrus kawakamii), Taiwan, 21. 265 Vicente           Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), Southeastern USA, 36. 810 York    Bronze loquat (Raphiolepis deflexa, syn. And the tree absolutely loves our cool coastal Mediterranean climate, very much like its home in southwestern Australia, near Perth. Japanese maple (Acer palmatum), Korea & Japan, 34. 706 Douglas           Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia), Argentina, Bolivia, Turn right on 23rd. When you reach Sea View Terrace, turn right. They’re in reverse order - skip to the end to see #1; I’m saving the best for last. At Fulton Street, cross Fulton and continue south on Broderick Street. 100 Mateo             Water gum (Tristaniopsis laurina), East Australia (tree is on Laidley; it grows          in streamside locations in the wild; hence, the common name; SF’s most commonly planted street tree), Laidley Street, northeast of Mateo, southeast side, 14. Brisbane box (Lophostemon confertus), E Australia (planted the full length of Mission Bay Blvd North). 1082 Noe                Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), southeast USA (this specimen was planted on April 22, 2000, in celebration of Earth Day), 59. Peruvian pepper tree (Schinus molle), Peru, Chile, The tree really (a Peruvian pepper tree - Schinus molle) is incidental to this park - it’s the grasses that make this park so beautiful…, A grove of coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens). Being big helps, of course; the the visual impact that the tree makes is important. Coast redwoods, some topping out at well over 350 feet/107 meters (and still growing) live in a narrow coastal band from roughly Big Sur to the Oregon border. The tour begins and ends at the corner of 31st Avenue and California Street. 820 Alabama           Chinese flame tree (Koelreuteria bipinnata), S China (this is the city champion for this species - the biggest one in San Francisco! 2663 - 21st             Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), Mediterranean Basin and southwest Ireland (the ice age almost pushed it out of Ireland, but not quite! A plaque at the base of the tree commemorates its planting at the nation’s centennial - it was a gift in 1976 by Beretta’s descendants, who still live in the Bay Area. 1772 Vallejo          Tītoki tree (Alectryon excelsus), New Zealand (a “City Champion”: the biggest of its kind in San Francisco), **Return to Gough and turn left to head uphill/south**, Gough Street, Vallejo to Broadway, east side, 31. 2670 - 21st             champak (Magnolia champaca) S & SE Asia (a great specimen of a rare tree in SF; flowers are fragrant), York Street, 21st to 20th, east then west side, 46. VI:  182, [5] The Outdoor Culture of Fuchsia in Coastal California (Reiter) Vol. Discover them at outstanding parks and preserves dotting the state. Vicksburg Street, 23rd to 24th, west side, 50. Canary Island pine (Pinus canariensis), Canary Islands (the grove of tall pines                                            surrounding Koret Quad), 38. Serious interest in plants started when the Reiters built a home at 1195 Stanyan Street in 1926. Reiter had an important role in the introduction of the hybrid strawberry tree - Arbutus X ‘Marina’, now one of San Francisco’s most commonly planted trees. The garden’s large Campbell’s magnolia - a 1947 wedding present to Victor and his wife from an English well wisher - is a centerpiece, with beautiful pinkish-white flowers blooming every January. 120 Manor             Victorian box (Pittosporum undulatum), Eastern Australia, Kenwood Way, Manor to Keystone, south side, 39. Full block of Roanoke       London plane trees (Platanus x acerifolia), hybrid of Eastern USA species and European species (these trees, on both sides of the street, have been pollarded in the past (pollarding means the repeated removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches), Laidley Street, Roanoke to Castro, northwest side, New Zealand tea tree (Leptospermum scoparium ‘Ruby Glow’), 22. 15 - it will be up on this site by Tuesday. The giant redwoods of Northern California are the biggest trees in the world. 401 Montecito       Water gum (Tristaniopsis laurina), Eastern Australia (it grows in streamside locations in the wild; hence, the common name; SF’s most commonly planted street tree), 14. 2600 Union            Red-flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia), Southwest Australia (tree is on Divisadero; this tree loves San Francisco’s climate; the flowers on this specimen are orange), Turn right/uphill at Divisidero. 25. Arguably the best known tree in San Francisco, the massive Monterey cypress tree (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa) stands in front of McLaren Lodge, the headquarters of the City’s Recreation and Park Department. Peruvian pepper tree (Schinus molle), Peru, Chile (just inside the southern edge of the                               park). 387 Wawona         Queen palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana), Southern Brazil (2 trees), 11. 11 Beaver    Primrose tree (Lagunaria patersonii), Australia and South Pacific Islands, 7. You’ll never see a more beautiful or densely planted sidewalk cut than under this Trachycarpus! 201 - 32nd   Monterey pine (Pinus radiata), Año Nuevo, Monterey, Cambria, CA native, most widely planted coniferous tree in the world (mostly for lumber; this is a particularly well-pruned specimen), 9. 320 Wawona         Marina strawberry tree (Arbutus ‘Marina’), hybrid of Mediterranean species, first introduced in San Francisco - the interesting San Francisco story can be found here, 16. The tree blooms in late winter or early spring, and the large, freestone fruit ripens around June. The Greek word for laurel is dhafni, after the nymph Daphne in Greek mythology. These trees are riparian (meaning that they love the edges of rivers), which means it’s very happy here on the edge of Mission Creek, 17. This is one of the few trees native to San Francisco, 44. 4143 - 23rd             Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), Eastern USA to Mexico & Central America, 30. 24. 1001 Ulloa             Water gum or small-leaf tristania (Tristaniopsis laurina), Eastern Australia (SF’s most commonly planted tree over the last decade), 49. The California fan palm, with the thicker trunk, is very rare in San Francisco, and it’s interesting to see it next to its thinner-trunked relative at this address. 2662 - 22nd            Yarwood plane tree (Platanus occidentalis ‘Yarwood’), Eastern North America (originated at Sather Tower, UC Berkeley), Cajeput tree (Melaleuca quinquenervia) trunk, 36. Arthur Menzies had left the nursery and returned to the Park and the Strybing Arboretum. We strongly recommend using google maps to help in navigating the area. Located just 12 miles north of San Francisco in Marin County, this is the only place to see redwood trees in the Bay Area. 4042 - 23rd             Marina strawberry tree (Arbutus ‘Marina’), hybrid of Mediterranean species (first introduced in San Francisco - the interesting San Francisco story can be found here), 40. From here, backtrack on 31st Avenue, cross California Street and head north on 31st on the east side of the street. Victor Reiter Jr. (1903-1986) was San Francisco‘s most famous grower, collector, and hybridizer of plants and trees for many years, and he was one of the founders of the California Horticulture Society in the 1930s. I’ve tried to gather in one place some details of the life of one of the most important horticulturalists in California from the 1930s through the 1980s. Numbered trees are labeled with common and scientific names and country of origin, all written in white chalk on the sidewalk; accompanying numbers, in blue, run from 1 to 56. A surprisingly warm, picture-perfect autumn day welcomed us for our seventeenth tree tour, offering up some uncommon and interesting trees along the gently curving streets and in the many horticulturally rich front gardens—somewhat surprising since this can be a fairly foggy neighborhood. The land was good and the roses prospered. Douglass Street, Elizabeth to 23rd, west side, 13. 605 Elizabeth           Washington thorn (Crataegus phaenopyrum) Eastern USA, berries of Washington thorn (Crataegus phaenopyrum), 3. The panel provides an illuminating graphic comparison of the rainfall patterns in other major US cities; it’s clear that San Francisco is pretty unusual in its winter-only rainfall. 259 - 32nd Italian bay tree (Laurus nobilis), Mediterranean Basin, 12. 50. 233 Noe     Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia), East Asia, 44. 2400 Steiner          New Zealand Christmas tree, pōhutukawa in Māori (Metrosideros excelsa), New Zealand (tree is on Washington). California buckeye tree (Aesculus californica). Court, where she won the right for all African Americans to ride the streetcars. This tree walk begins at the northwest corner of the intersection of Miramar Avenue and Ocean Avenue, the southern edge of Westwood Park. 242 Wawona         Japanese maple (Acer palmatum), Korea & Japan, 23. 55 Southwood        Bloodwood (Baloghia inophylla), Eastern Australia (quite possibly the only one of                           its kind in SF, outside of the Botanical Gardens), 5. 273 - 32nd Lemon bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus), E Australia, 16. Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), China (numerous street trees on Nelson Rising and along the western edge of the plaza), **Cross Nelson Rising Lane at the brick cross walk and enter the residential complex, 29. In the early 1930s, the Reiter family acquired an additional acre of land adjoining their backyard from the Sutro heirs, a triangle-shaped lot wedged between Stanyan Street, Woodland Avenue, and the Sutro Forest. 16. 201 Sussex             Marina strawberry tree (Arbutus ‘Marina’), hybrid of Mediterranean species (one of SF’s finest speciments; first introduced in San Francisco - the interesting San Francisco story can be found here), 40. 605 Lyon                Japanese blueberry tree (Elaeocarpus decipiens), East Asia, McAllister Street, Lyon to Baker, north side, 11. With significant rains still at least another week away, we enjoyed a picture-perfect day in Pacific Heights, focusing on trees between Scott and Gough streets, and California and Vallejo streets. New alpines, dwarf conifers, fuchsias and other shrubs came from the British Isles; gazanias, watsonias, and succulents from the Cape; shrubs and alpines from New Zealand and Tasmania; geraniums from France; echeverias, fuchsias, hawthorns, montanoas from Mexico; Fuchsia triphylla from Santo Domingo; aeoniums, echiums, statice, from the Canaries; armerias, alpines and bulbs from Morocco; helleborus and cyclamen from Majorca; even rose seeds from the USSR. 101 Madrone         Deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara), Himalayas, 48. Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), C & N CA coastal native, tallest tree species in the                         world (a small grove of redwoods is at the corner of each block of Mission Bay                                         Commons Park), 6. Richard edited another great book on San Francisco trees: Elizabeth McClintock’s Trees of Golden Gate Park. 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