This week’s tour is just east of Lincoln Park in the Richmond District and neighboring Seacliff, a neighborhood of beautiful homes and richly planted front gardens. The tour begins and ends at the corner of 31st Avenue and California Street. Our trio is the same: Jason Dewees (author of Designing with Palms), Richard Turner (retired editor of Pacific Horticulture), and I’m Mike Sullivan, author of Trees of San Francisco.

The walk heads west on California Street to 32nd Avenue, then north on 32nd for half a block, crosses 32nd and returns to California, then heads east on California to 31st, north on 31st to Sea View, east on Sea View to 30th, north on 30th to Lake Street, then returns south on 30th to California, and back to its beginning at 31st.

red alder (Alnus rubra) - the City’s largest! — red alder (*Alnus rubra*) - the City’s largest!

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 28. White arrows on the pavement provide directions whenever a turn is needed.

California Street at 31st Avenue, NW corner

1. 295 - 31st Red alder (Alnus rubra), CA to Alaska, a SF native! This is a gorgeous tree, and we think it’s a “City Champion” - the biggest of this species in in San Francisco. Head west on California Street, then turn right on 32nd Avenue.

32nd Avenue, north of California, east side

2. 298 - 32nd Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis), Canary Islands (2 trees) This is the same palm that lines the Embarcadero and upper Market Street, and there are many Canary Island palms in the Dolores Street median.

3. 270 - 32nd Purple-leaf plum (Prunus cerasifera), Eurasia. This was formerly SF’s most planted tree, but its popularity has faded in the past decade.

4. 262 - 32nd New Zealand Christmas tree, pōhutukawa in Māori (Metrosideros excelsa), New Zealand. New Zealand Christmas trees are widely planted in SF, as the tree loves our climate. It is one of the best fits for the western side of the City where winds and sandy soils are a challenge for other trees.

5. 244 - 32nd Mayten (Maytenus boaria), Chile (a well-pruned specimen)

6. 214 - 32nd Loropetalum chinense, China (typically grown as shrubs, these have been beautifully pruned into small trees)

7. 200 - 32nd Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman’, CA native (two well-grown specimens)

Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) — Monterey pine (*Pinus radiata*)

***Please cross the street carefully; the tour will backtrack towards California Street from this point.***

32nd Avenue, north of California, west side

8. 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. 231 - 32nd Ficus (Ficus microcarpa ‘Nitida’), S Asia. Ficus is a very common street tree throughout SF, but it isn’t frequently planted any more, so you don’t see many young ficus trees around the City.)

10. 247 - 32nd Silver maple (Acer saccharinum), E North America

11. 259 - 32nd Italian bay tree (Laurus nobilis), Mediterranean Basin

12. 261 - 32nd Peppermint willow (Agonis flexuosa), SW Australia

13. 271 - 32nd Red ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon), E & SE Australia

14. 271 - 32nd Silver dollar gum (Eucalyptus polyanthemos), E Australia

15. 273 - 32nd Lemon bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus), E Australia

16. 291 - 32nd Primrose tree (Lagunaria patersonii), Australia & S Pacific Islands

17. 291 - 32nd Japanese podocarpus (Podocarpus macrophyllus), China & Japan (used here as a hedge between properties)

***Back at California Street, note the magnificent mosaic steps at the western end of California Street - they are worth a detour! Then turn cross California Street and head east on the north side of California.***

California Street, 32nd to 31st, south side

18. 6945 California London plane tree (Platanus x acerifolia), hybrid of E USA species and European species (planted along California Street from Nob Hill to Lincoln Park; many of them are pollarded regularly to control their size)

19. 6935 California Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria heterophylla), Australia, Norfolk Island (it’s the tall “Christmas tree” within the block across the street). At 31st Avenue, turn right and head south to the Dupont Tennis Courts.

Across the street from 349 - 31st Avenue Lilly pilly (Syzygium smithii, formerly Acmena smithii), E Australia. This is an extremely rare tree on the streets of San Francisco. The colorful fruit are edible, though rather tasteless; exceptional specimens can be seen in the SF Botanical Garden. From here, backtrack on 31st Avenue, cross California Street and head north on 31st on the east side of the street.

31st Avenue, California to Sea View, east side

20. 290 - 31st Blue Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca’), Morocco & Algeria

21. 282 - 31st New Zealand Christmas tree, pōhutukawa in Māori (Metrosideros excelsa), New Zealand. When you reach Sea View Terrace, turn right.

silver dollar tree (Eucalyptus cinerea) — silver dollar tree (*Eucalyptus* *cinerea*)

Sea View, 31st to 30th

22. 55 Sea View Mexican weeping pine (Pinus patula), Mexico (the tree with drooping needles, across the street, on the SW corner of Sea View and 31st)

23. 40 Sea View Silver dollar tree (Eucalyptus cinerea), Australia (tree with silvery foliage on the north side of the street). This is a very rare tree in San Francisco, and it took the three of us some time to come to a conclusion on the ID of this tree!

24. 25 Sea View Water gum or small-leafed tristania (Tristaniopsis laurina), E Australia (several trees in a row; one of the most planted trees in SF). At 30th Avenue, turn left and head to 2850 Lake (at the corner of 30th).

Lake Street at 30th, NE corner

25. 2850 Lake Red-flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia), SW Australia (magnificent aged specimens on both Lake and 30th; this tree loves SF’s climate)

26. 2850 Lake Hybrid tea tree (Leptospermum ‘Dark Shadows’), Australia (flowering in the shadows near the corner of the house). Now backtrack on 30th and head south, on the east side of the street.

30th Avenue, Lake to California, east side

27. 232 - 30th Blackwood acacia (Acacia melanoxylon), SE Australia (4 trees; the largest is among the most shapely in SF)

28. 286 - 30th Saucer magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana), hybrid of E Asian species; also a Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), SE USA (across the street)

This walking tour was organized by Mike Sullivan, author of The Trees of San Francisco (if you like this tour, there are 12 more neighborhood tree tours in Mike’s book), Jason Dewees, horticulturist at Flora Grubb Gardens and author of Designing with Palms; and Richard Turner, retired editor of Pacific Horticulture magazine and editor of Trees of Golden Gate Park. If you’re a tree enthusiast, buy all three books! You can follow Mike (@sftreeguy) and Jason (@loulufan) on Instagram.