This tour celebrates the Jewish holiday of Tu BiShvat (Hebrew: ט״ו בשבט‎), which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat (in 2021, Tu BiShvat begins at sunset on January 27 and ends in the evening of January 28). It is also called Rosh HaShanah La'Ilanot, literally “New Year of the Trees”. In contemporary Israel, the day is celebrated as an ecological awareness day.

The tour starts at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, at the northwest corner of California Street and Presidio Avenue. From there, head west on California Street, towards Walnut Street.

1. The last two trees before you reach Walnut Street are London plane trees (Platanus x acerifolia). The London plane is the most common street tree in San Francisco, and one of the most popular urban trees in the world. It was a natural hybrid that occurred as European visitors to America in the 1600s brought American plane trees home to Europe, where they mingled with a close botanical relative (oriental plane trees) from Europe. The “children” of these American and European parents had what we call “hybrid vigor”, and the London plane has been with us ever since!

Cross Walnut Street, and turn right onto Walnut.

2. 431 Walnut Two ficus trees (Ficus microcarpa), from South and Southeast Asia to northern Australia. This used to be San Francisco’s most common street tree, but it hasn’t been planted for many years, as its roots are bad sidewalk-breakers. We also lost a third of the city’s ficus trees in a cold snap in 1991, when the temperature dipped to 27 degrees fahrenheit in some parts of the city - causing the trees to die overnight.

3. 3428 Sacramento Two red-flowering gums (Corymbia ficifolia), from southwest Australia, near Perth. Despite its name, this tree’s flowers can be red, orange, pink, white or in between - the flowers of these trees on Sacramento seem to have a coral hue to them. The fruits of this species look like the bowl of a small pipe. It’s my favorite San Francisco tree - it puts out spectacular blooms typically in July and August. This tree hasn’t gotten the message and is putting out its blooms in January!

Continue west on Sacramento, and cross Laurel Street.

4. NW corner of Sacramento and Laurel. New Zealand Christmas tree (Metrosideros excelsa), New Zealand. This tree is called pōhutukawa in the Māori language, and that is what it is called by New Zealanders. This is the 2nd most common street tree in San Francisco. It’s known for its brilliant red flowers in summer - you can’t see them now, but you can see the other thing that the tree is famous for, which is its “aerial roots” - roots that hang down from the tree’s canopy.

5. 333 Laurel Two southern magnolias (Magnolia grandiflora), native to Southeast USA. (This is state tree of Mississippi). The next tree on Laurel is a large London plane tree (like the ones you saw on California Street). You can easily see the seed balls of the tree in the tree canopy.

Cross Laurel Street, and head left (west) on the north side of Clay Street.

pollarded London plane trees (Platanuts x acerifolia) in front of the Korean consulate — pollarded London plane trees (*Platanuts x acerifolia*) in front of the Korean consulate

6. 3500 Clay In front of the Korean consulate at this address are four London plane trees that have been “pollarded”. To “pollard” a tree means to cut it repetitively, year after year, at the same joint - not every tree can handle this, but London plane trees react by creating a knobby ending that some (not all…) find aesthetically pleasing.

7. 3512 Clay (to left of the driveway as you face the house) Princess tree (Tibouchina urvilleana) from Southern Brazil. This is the small tree with deep purple flowers.

8. 3580 Clay The large tree in the yard (not in the sidewalk) at this address is a Victorian box (Pittosporum undulatum) from Eastern Australia. When it’s in bloom, this tree has a powerful perfume that you can smell from around a corner.

Turn right and head downhill on Locust.

9. 200 Locust. As you approach the corner, there are six blackwood acacia trees (Acacia melanoxylon) from southeast Australia at this address. These trees get very large and are very brittle when mature, so the City is discouraging the planting of this species.

Turn right onto Washington Street.

10. 3565 Washington Two Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) from Japan, China, Korea in the courtyard and against the house at this address.

11. 3525-27 Washington A Catalina ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus); this is the first California native that we’ve seen so far - it’s native to the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California.

12. 3515 Washington Two olive trees (Olea europaea) from the Mediterranean Basin. This tree has a part in the story of Noah and the ark from the book of Genesis: וַתָּבֹא אֵלָיו הַיּוֹנָה לְעֵת עֶרֶב, וְהִנֵּה עֲלֵה-זַיִת טָרָף בְּפִיהָ; וַיֵּדַע נֹחַ, כִּי-קַלּוּ הַמַּיִם מֵעַל הָאָרֶץ. “And the dove came in to him at eventide; and lo in her mouth an olive-leaf freshly plucked; so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.”

13. 3461 Washington Another Victorian box tree from Australia (look up - it’s the big tree above the garage).

Turn right and head uphill on Walnut.

14. As you walk up Laurel, at the driveway to the large corner property, you’ll see a very large deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara) from the Himalayas. Among Hindus, deodar cedars are regarded as divine trees - the name deodar derives from the Sanskrit term devadāru, meaning “wood of the gods”.

Cross Clay Street, then turn left and cross Walnut to the east side of the street. Then head downhill on Walnut.

closeup of bark of a Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia) — closeup of bark of a Chinese elm (*Ulmus parvifolia*)

15. 304 Walnut Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia) from East Asia. The bark of this tree is beautiful - it comes off in puzzle-piece shapes.

Cross Sacramento Street and turn left/east on Sacramento.

16. All of the trees on this block of Sacramento between Walnut and Presidio are Brazilian pepper trees (Schinus terebinthifolius), from Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. There are two at 3391 Sacramento, two at 3375 Sacramento, and three large ones at 3555 Sacramento.

mayten trees (Maytenus boaria) — mayten trees (*Maytenus boaria*)

17. When you reach the corner of Presidio Avenue, look kitty-corner to the northeast corner of Presidio and Sacramento, and you’ll see three mayten trees (Maytenus boaria) from Chile.

Turn right, head downhill one block to your starting point!

A short commercial: I’m Mike Sullivan, author of The Trees of San Francisco and webmaster of www.sftrees.com, and I created this tour. You can follow me on my tree-themed Instagram page at @sftreeguy. If you enjoyed the tour, I think you’ll like my book - it’s hard to keep a local book in print, so click here to buy a copy or visit your local independent bookseller to get a copy!