SF Trees

Based on: Mike Sullivan, the trees of San Francisco (Wilderness Press, 2013)

American Sweetgum

liquidambar styraciflua

1880 Turk Street @ Broderick watch for fall colors (?) and “round, shiny seed capsules in the winter”

Mike: 2503-2507 Bryant @ 23rd; also many on Stanyan b/w 17th and Belgrave in Cole Valley

Australian Tea Tree

leptospermum laevigatum

1601 Page Street @ Ashbury small white flowers April-June

Mike: 1278 Alemany @ Silver Ave in Outer Mission

* Australian Willow *

geijera parviflora / wilga

1620 Turk @ Pierce, 1456 Fulton b/w Broderick/Baker, 1250s/1270s Hayes b/w Divisadero / Scott, many on Central > Grove to Hayes > and more on Hayes west, cluster on Page west of Masonic

central Australian, mildly analgesic leaves

Peppermint Willow

agonis flexuosa

841 Baker near Turk (City Champion!), 1852 Golden Gate (?), and 401 Baker @ Hayes (we like), some on Scott from Page to Haight, and on Haight near Pierce

from Western Australia

* Avocado *

persea americana

300s Fell Street @ Gough, backyard @ 71 Sanchez near 14th (Duboce Tri), 1 Harlow Street off 16th b/w Sanchez/Church near Everett Middle School

much history, but no cross-pollination in SF — Mike: 1011 S. Van Ness @ 21st in Mission

Bailey’s Acacia

acacia baileyana / Cootamundra wattle (NSW)

many on Sutter and Bush b/w Scott/Pierce, Baker b/w Turk/Goldengate & Goldengate west of Baker (?), clusters on Central b/w McAllister/Fulton and west on Fulton, 2 either side of Divisadero on Fulton, a few on Hayes b/w Divisadero/Scott and more south on Scott

brilliant yellow blossoms (pollen) in JANUARY

Blackwood Acacia

acacia melanoxylon (Tasmania / SE Australia)

across the street! and elsewhere around the homes inside Turk/Eddy, Scott/Pierce

yellow flowers in February/March, much pollen, leaves = phyllodes (leaf stalks)

Blue Gum Eucalyptus

eucalyptus globulus

Mary Ellen Pleasant’s blue gums on Octavia @ Bush, the Centennial Tree on the parade ground of the Presidio

Silver Dollar Gum

eucalyptus polyanthemoson

south side of Geary b/w Baker/Kaiser Hospital, mostly private otherwise, in the median of Noe @ 14th

fibrous bark

Brisbane Box

lophostemon confertus

the Falletti’s & DMV tree! and on Haight b/w Broderick/Baker and Castro b/w Duboce/14th and down the hill on both of those streets

Mike: 960-970 Haight Street @ Divisadero

dull but tolerant, peeling bark, low maintenance (white flowers in July/August but no smell)

Bronze Loquat

eriobotrya deflexa

Post b/w Divisadero/Scott, and elsewhere, Page b/w Central/Lyon

creamy white flowers March-May but no fruit (unless edible varietals, usu. in backyards)

Bunya-Bunya

araucaria bidwilli

1818 California/Franklin (Pac Heights) and 201 Vicente @ Wawona (also in SFBG)

football size cones every 3 years

Cajeput

melaleuca quinquenervia / broad-leafed paperbark

on Turk by Primo (?), many on Turk east of Webster, one “styphelliodes” @ 1372 Grove b/w Broderick/Divisadero, and many “linariifolia” (flaxleaf) on the same block of Grove, many Cajeputs on Waller b/w Pierce/Scott and south on Scott by the lawn

yellowish-white flowers June-August but flaxleaf paper barks are more showy (June/July = fluffy, bottlebrush-like flowers ~ cotton balls or snow)

California Buckeye

aesculus californica

2694 McAllister @ Willard, on Poppy Lane west of Diamond, two babies near the Haight Street entrance to GG Parkshowy

flowers May-June w/ fruits & seeds, drop in July > poisonous to fish

Brazilian Pepper

schinus terebinthifolius

in front of the Deaf School on Divisadero past Eddy! and many on Cabrillo west of Arguello and many on east side of Pierce b/w Bush/Pine and 1801 McAllister (by MH — but Mike disagrees)

red berries, crazy straw trunks, fast growing but brittle

California / Peruvian Pepper

schinus molle

1880 Steiner b/w Sutter/Bush, 1906 McAllister @ Lyon, 235 Broderick b/w Oak/Page, 800s Page and Page & Steiner, many on both sides of that “other” block of Divisadero past Castro and Pizzetta 211!!!

Sunset Magazine tree, fernlike foliage w/ many leaflets, females = drooping clusters of rose-colored peppercorns in Fall and Winter (may be toxic)

Callery / Ornamental Pear

pyrus calleryana

Divisadero b/w McAllister and Waller is nothing but these trees acc. to the City, also Turk along USF to Stanyan, 928 Broderick @ Turk, 1793 McAllister @ Baker

bare November-March, maybe colors? (China/Vietnam native)

Evergreen Pear

pyrus kawakamii

100s Scott @ Waller (Mike likes), Broderick (east) south of Golden Gate and east on McAllister (south), Turk (north) by the Blood Center, Page west of Ashbury and more on Haight, east side of Alamo Square south of Fulton

leaves do drop around New Year, white blooms in February/March

Canary Island Date Palm

phoenix canariensis

two backyard landmarks @ 2040 Sutter b/w Fillmore/Steiner, 667 Waller b/w Scott/Pierce, and lining upper Market and Dolores streets

* Carob *

ceratonia siliqua

clusters on Lyon, toward Sutter, and Webster (both sides) b/w Laussat/Waller, Fell west of Steiner (north), Waller west of Pierce (south), Noe b/w Henry/15th

almost no pods bc females are not planted, sidewalk crackers

Catalina Ironwood

lyonothamnus floribundus (asplenifolius)

1100 Divisadero (from 2017)???, Matching Half tree! and friends on Broderick b/w Fulton/Grove (from 2002/2008), new ones on Pierce @ Oak

native, fernlike, reddish brown peeling bark, flowers in May/June

Chinese Elm

ulmus parvifolia

in front of Buddhists on Eddy, on Broderick just south of Golden Gate (west)?, many on McAllister b/w Pierce/Steiner, MANY on Pine b/w Baker/Scott

“evergreen,” small leaves, gray & brown mottled bark

Coast Live Oak

quercus agrifolia

Baker (west) south of Grove, 637 Masonic (west) b/w Fulton/Grove, Sacramento b/w Scott/Pierce, 343 Waller b/w Fillmore/Webster, corner market @ Noe/19th, and … GG Park!

Coast Redwood

sequoia sempervirens

Panhandle grove near McK*** statue, Post & Webster (yard)

Giant Sequoia / Sierra Redwood

sequoiadendron giganteum

almost none on streets; 200 Corbin and 3066 Market Street above Rainbow Flag; young ones opposite Cole in the Panhandle (south), Garfield Park and SFBG ???

* Cockspur Coral Tree *

erythrina crista-galli

366 Cumberland St @ Sanchez in Dolores Heights

late June / July for blooms but check 424 Waller (west of Fillmore) for another type

* Cork Oak *

quercus suber

east side of Church in Dolores Park b/w 19th/Hancock and some on Van Ness b/w City Hall and Opera / Herbst

Deodar Cedar

cedrus deodara

SFBG lawn, Broadway (north) @ Steiner (yard), 2758 Green b/w Broderick/Baker, 79 Pierce south of Waller

Seattle favorite! clouds of yellow pollen in Spring, seeds w/ papery wings

Ficus / Indian Laurel Fig

ficus microcarpa

the 24th Street trees are being removed, Waller b/w Scott/Steiner and Laussat b/w Steiner and Fillmore (!), the City thinks the trees in front of Ethan’s old apartment are Banyan Figs (ficus retusa nitida)

* Giant Dracaena / Cabbage Palm *

cordyline australis

most are “private:” Broderick just south of Hayes (?), Golden Gate b/w Roselyn/Kittredge Terraces (?), Fell b/w Ashbury/Clayton, MANY on Buena Vista Ave West south of Haight near the park, LOWER HAIGHT = 464 Waller, 84 Potomac, 103 Steiner, 52 Pierce, 15 Noe, 709 Duboce; also Main Post of the Presidio

New Zealand native; thrives in Pacifica and Daly City

Ginkgo / Maidenhair

ginkgo biloba

in front of 1115 Divisadero, and almost anywhere you go!

last to leaf, turn yellow in late November, early December check Mike’s list of female trees on p. 40

Glossy Privet

ligustrum lucidum

watch for the white flowers in June! (and the bees) and smell the fragrance; neglected trees kill their interior growth

one on McAllister b/w Broderick/Baker, etc.; cluster on FIllmore south of Haight, NE corners of Grove/Baker, more on Baker south of Hayes, Hayes either side of Baker, Eddy near Turk (?)

* Hawthorn *

crataegus laevigata

2167/75 Turk, 1200 Page @ Baker, 49/55 Lyon (S of Page)

white blooms in late Spring, tiny red fruit in Summer, Fall colors

aka

* English Hawthorn *

crataegus laevigata

2175 Turk east of Central (?), Lyon south of Page, & Page @ Baker, Buena Vista & Duboce, 45 Hartford (Castro)

Washington Hawthorn

crataegus phaenopyrum

Golden Gate @ Diviz (private), Buena Vista Ave E after Buena Vista Terrace, a grove on Steiner & esp. Laussat, and Webster (N/S) of Laussat

most common NA Hawthorn in SF

* Italian Buckthorn *

rhamnus alaternus

shrubs to trees, very generic (Jenica has a few in her garden!)

Golden Gate opposite Day School (???), 709 Scott @ Grove (Alamo Square), 1400 Hayes/463 Broderick (private), 341 Waller, 66 Potomac, 101 Scott

* Italian Stone Pine *

pinus pinea

1500 Steiner (east of playground south of Geary), 671 Church in Dolores Park, 4053 20th b/w Noe/Sanchez, 90 Woodland Ave in Cole Valley = Mike’s street

* Jacaranda *

jacaranda mimosifolia

rare: 847 Baker @ Turk, 2719 Sutter @ Lyon, 2231 Pine b/w Fillmore/Webster, 400s Pierce @ Oak, 70 Potomac, many on 14th W/E of Sanchez, and *700s Buchanan off Hayes*

Japanese Flowering Cherry 

prunus serrulata “Kwanzan” or “ornamental”

Kwanzan = Carmelita Street and Sutter b/w Buchanan/Laguna

Ornamental = Japantown, Page Street … everywhere!

remember the mixed tree on Page Street!

Lemon Bottlebrush

callistemon citrinus

500s Broderick b/w Grove/Hayes, and everywhere else, including Waller before Webster

Weeping Bottlebrush

callistemon viminalisa

grove on Broderick, south of Post, and on Page east of Webster (a few on Webster north), a few in the Haight-A, here and there

Australian

Lombardy Poplar

populus nigra “Italica”

on St. Joseph’s @ the top of Eddy!

London Plane

platanus x acerifolia

“the most commonly planted street tree in San Francisco”

Mayten

maytenus boaria

everywhere including Matching Half and across the street

Mexican Fan Palm

washingtonia robusta

on Baker @ CA Daughters, 800s Scott up to Alamo Square, Dolores Park

Monterey Cyprus

hesperocyparis macrocarpa

McLaren Lodge, and elsewhere, including Baker near McAllister and the median of Geary (@ Scott and @ Steiner), all of Golden Gate past Masonic next to USF and left on Shrader

Monterey Pine

pinus radiata

almost all private; maybe 2100 Turk or Masonic south of Golden Gate, Baker and Page, and Castro/Waller as it splits from Divisadero

north side of Loyd @ Castro is a Silk Oak Tree (grevillea robusta)

New Zealand Christmas Tree / Pōhutukawa

metrosideros excelsa

EVERYWHERE!including the yellow flowering trees @ 1221 Stanyan and Ft. Mason!

* New Zealand Tea Tree *

leptospermum scoparium

Broderick (W) b/w Post/Sutter, the Helene Strybing varietal w/ deep pink flowers: 950 Monterey @ Plymouth and 2065 Vallejo @ Webster

Norfolk Island Pine

araucaria heterophylla

in the Panhandle and nearby, and everywhere you look

Olive

olea europaea

920 Broderick @ Turk, the entire S/W corner of O’Farrell & Pierce (next to the playground), Post (N) East of Scott, both sides of Page @ Masonic, Scott north of Page, the whole south side of Haight b/w Buchanan/Laguna (and south on both of the cross streets), etc.

Primrose Tree

lagunaria patersonia

Golden Gate (N) @ Baker and more nearby (?), many on Encanto near Anza Vista, 756 Lyon @ Golden Gate, 1353 Hayes W of Divisadero, Page and Divisadero, and a few either side of Scott on Waller

native to Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island!!! hibiscus-like flowers start pink and fade to white

Purple-Leaf Plum

prunus cerasifera

my winter friends, especially on Broderick near Fulton and next to Green Earth Market, Grove west to Lyon and N/S on Lyon, and ELSEWHERE

Red Flowering Gum

corymbia ficifolia

EVERYWHERE, including Ellis east of Scott, and O’Farrell, both sides of Divisadero all the way to the playground and south, and Page Street (famous!) also

native to Western Australia, southeast of Perth

Red Ironbark

eucalyptus sideroxylon

across the street and interspersed among the other red gums on Ellis b/w Scott/Pierce, NOTHING BUT on Hayes, b/w Steiner/Pierce after Alamo Square

Small-leaf Tristania / Swamp Myrtle / Water Gum

tristaniopsis laurina (“elegant”)

Turk Street (not Brisbanes), all of St. Joseph’s north to Ellis and beyond, Oak is full of them, the City even thinks some of the Falletti’s block trees are this one

THE most commonly planted street tree; WAY too similar to Brisbane Boxes BUT “semi-showy” yellow flowers April-June followed by small seed capsules that drop in winter

Southern Magnolia

magnolia grandiflora

EVERYWHERE, including Divisadero and Castro Streets

primitive angiosperms, pollinated by beetles

Strawberry Tree

arbutus “marina”

always recognizable, incredible story; and EVERYWHERE you go, but there’s a long grove of them on Nido off Turk and Waller east of Divisadero

Laurel / Sweet Bay

laurus nobilis

across from Advanced Dentistry; 1377 Fulton @ Broderick (?), many on Pierce (W) south to Page, etc., Oak Street (S) b/w Fillmore/Octavia has some, and 1740/26 Page, more north of Geary

the famous tree of antiquity = bay leaves

Sweetshade

hymenosporum flavum

the Buddhist block of Eddy has some young ones, but this is the lower Haight tree! especially b/w Pierce/Buchanan (Mike likes 758 Haight @ Scott)

Australian “frangipani” … March to September … amazing fragrance

* Tulip Tree *

liriodendron tulipfera

1327 McAllister near Steiner, 1652 Hayes b/w Lyon/Central, more @ 1960 Hayes, some on Clay west of Webster, and Broadway west of Divisadero

Eastern North America; “five point” leaves w/o the top lobe; unusual flowers

Victorian Box

pittosporum undulatum

our corner tree and … Broderick to Eddy, Diviz to Ellis, and EVERYWHERE ELSE (Beideman, Scott b/w Eddy/O’Farrell, Turk, Eddy, Steiner, Gateway Middle School, Steiner from Oak to Haight, etc.

new/old foliage, flowers in February, > sticky mess, Mike likes the fragrance?

Wild Lilac

ceanothus “ray hartman”

most private; the City knows of some on Central b/w Oak/Page, I think there’s one on Broderick

Windmill Palm

trachycarpus fortunei

1715 Golden Gate (?), Baker north of Fulton, Hayes west of Divisadero

OTHERS

Shamel Ash (evergreen)

fraxinus uhdei

Masonic (north of Fulton and b/w Grove / Hayes west side), all of Webster b/w Geary / Grove, Haight & Masonic, Page b/w Lyon / Broderick, Noe b/w Henry / Market (esp. near Flor), 721 Cole @ Waller

Ngaio / Mousehole

myoporum laetum

the stand on Grove @ Baker is thriving, but most (including McAllister) are going or gone, check Pierce b/w Fell / Oak

Soapbark

quillaja saponaria

736 Masonic @ Hayes (City Champion!), 755 & 765 Fulton @ Webster

rare, Chilean native

Yew Pine / kusamaki, inumaki

podocarpus macrophyllus

either side of Post b/w Fillmore / Webster (Kabuki) etc., scattered on Oak (mostly South) b/w Stanyan / Masonic, and three b/w Divisadero / Broderick

Golden Chain

laburnum

414 Shrader near Oak (private)

pea family, poisonous, weeping yellow blossoms in June (worth a visit!)

Gold Medallion

cassia leptophylla

225/227 Cole @ Hayes, 1860 Page (due south of <), 1110 Page @ Broderick, 668 Oak (east of Fillmore)

famous in the Santa Cruz mountains, also poisonous yellow bottle brush type flowers BLOOMS August through November

Himalayan Fishtail Palm

caryota maxima

Bay and Scott streets in the Marina = the only four in the City!

1776 Vallejo @ Gough

Northern rātā (metrosideros robusta) and Tītoki tree (alectryon excelsus)

3 Tips To Tell Apart Rata or Pohutukawa Trees

Silver-leaved Mountain Gum

lophostemon confertus

525 Jersey

the shish-kebab tree!!!

514-518 Clipper @ Diamond

two incense cedars (calocedrus decurrens) and one spotted gum (eucalpytus polyanthemos)