We were invited by the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival to do a tour of the trees in the lovely park between Mission and Howard, 3rd and 4th Streets in the SOMA neighborhood. The park was opened in 1993, and sits above the underground ballroom of the Marriott Hotel across the street, so the trees are planted in soil of various depths, placed on top of underground commercial space.

This tour was unique in two respects - first, there were no addresses to identify the tree locations. We walked clockwise (to the left) around the circular park, so we’ve laid out the photos and descriptions below in the order that we encountered the trees. And secondly, this tour was done without Dick Turner, who was out of town. Dick, we missed you!

The main sidewalk of the park is a large circle, with most (but not all) of the trees inside the circle. The tour starts near the Mission Street entrance at the northwest corner of the park, near several large coast redwoods. From there, walk clockwise (to the left) and complete the circle. This is by far our shortest tour, and shouldn’t take longer than 20-30 minutes.

Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), Big Sur to Southwest Oregon; CA coastal native (tallest tree species in the world) — Coast redwood (*Sequoia* *sempervirens*), Big Sur to Southwest Oregon; CA coastal native (tallest tree species in the world)

After you’ve passed the redwoods, walking clockwise, look to your left as you pass a park building, and you’ll see a small purple-leaf plum (Prunus cerasifera) from Eurasia (formerly San Francisco’s most commonly planted tree).

Brisbane box (Lophostemon confertus), Eastern Australia — Brisbane box (*Lophostemon confertus*), Eastern Australia

On your left, just after the Brisbane box trees are two Little Gem magnolias (Magnolia grandiflora ‘Little Gem’) from southeastern USA.

California buckeye (Aesculus californica) - a California and San Francisco native! There are two large trees to your right, and they had just leafed out as we visited in March. — California buckeye (*Aesculus californica*) - a California and San Francisco native! There are two large trees to your right, and they had just leafed out as we visited in March.

But the buckeyes have become targets for initial-carvers. Don’t do this!

Just past the buckeyes (which are on your right), on your left are some smaller shrubs - they are toyons (Heteromeles arbutifolia) an evergreen shrub native to extreme southwest Oregon, California, Baja California, and British Columbia. It is the sole species in its genus.

Italian stone pine (Pinus pinea), from the Mediterranean Basin (source of pine nuts/pignoli) — Italian stone pine (*Pinus pinea*), from the Mediterranean Basin (source of pine nuts/pignoli)

Just past the Italian stone pine, on the left are several mature Chinese elms (Ulmus parvifolia) from East Asia. The bark of the Chinese elm comes off in puzzle-piece shapes. — Just past the Italian stone pine, on the left are several mature Chinese elms (*Ulmus parvifolia*) from East Asia. The bark of the Chinese elm comes off in puzzle-piece shapes.

Once you have passed the Martin Luther King fountain, on your left you’ll see some mature evergreen pear trees (Pyrus kawakamii) from Taiwan mixed in with Tasmanian tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica) from southeastern Australia. Here a tree fern i… — Once you have passed the Martin Luther King fountain, on your left you’ll see some mature evergreen pear trees (*Pyrus kawakamii*) from Taiwan mixed in with Tasmanian tree ferns (*Dicksonia antarctica*) from southeastern Australia. Here a tree fern is framed by a multi-trunked pear tree.

As you round the circle, on your right are two Victorian box trees (Pittosporum undulatum) from Eastern Australia. They were in bloom as we visited - the flowers are intensely fragrant, which is why one of the common names for this tree is “mock or… — As you round the circle, on your right are two Victorian box trees (*Pittosporum undulatum*) from Eastern Australia. They were in bloom as we visited - the flowers are intensely fragrant, which is why one of the common names for this tree is “mock orange”.

As you continue around the circle, there are a couple American sweetgums (Liquidambar styraciflua), from Eastern USA to Mexico & Central America. They are the trees very close to the sidewalk, and were bare of leaves (normal for March) on our visit.

Continuing on, fairly far from the sidewalk on your right is one mature coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) - it’s the tree with a round crown perhaps 50 feet from the sidewalk, surrounded by other trees. Coast live oak is a California and San Francisco native.

Our regular commercial: This walking tour was organized by Mike Sullivan, author of The Trees of San Francisco and webmaster of www.sftrees.com; Jason Dewees, horticulturist at Flora Grubb Gardens and author of Designing with Palms; and Richard Turner, retired editor of Pacific Horticulture magazine . You can follow Mike and Jason on their tree-themed Instagram pages at @sftreeguy and @loulufan. Richard edited another great book on San Francisco trees: Elizabeth McClintock’s Trees of Golden Gate Park. If you’re a tree enthusiast, buy all three books!