Sunny, warm, and windless—a perfect October day in San Francisco, particularly after the past four uncommonly cool months. We chose a relatively little known neighborhood for today’s walk: Peralta Heights, a hilly neighborhood on the northeastern slope of Bernal Heights. This is a fairly warm pocket of the city, with quirky architecture and a surprisingly diverse array of trees to be enjoyed.

Today’s walk begins in front of the Precita Park Cafe & Grill, at Alabama Street and Precita Avenue, and heads east on Precita to Florida Street, then crosses Precita and returns to Alabama. It then heads south on Alabama to Mullen Street, east (and slightly uphill) on Mullen all the way to Montcalm Street, then west on Montcalm to Alabama, and finally north on Alabama back to Precita. This walk is a little under one and a half miles in length.

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

Beautiful garage door artwork at 523 Precita (the owner is the artist!)

Precita Avenue, Alabama to Florida, south side

1. 508 Precita Saratoga laurel (Laurus ‘Saratoga’), hybrid of Mediterranean and Atlantic species (selected form introduced by Saratoga Horticultural Foundation)

2. 548 Precita Trident maple (Acer buergerianum), E China, Taiwan, Japan (note the heavy production of the winged seeds, called samaras; likely due to the exceptional rainfall of the past winter)

3. 552 Precita Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis), Canary Islands, Spain (a young specimen, barely showing a trunk but providing plenty of shade; this is the species seen on Market Street and along the Embarcadero)

Precita Avenue, Florida to Alabama, north side

4. 523 Precita Silver dollar gum (Eucalyptus polyanthemos), E Australia (the leaves on young shoots have the approximate size and shape of a silver dollar)

5. 523 Precita Sweet michelia (Magnolia doltsopa), Himalayas (the brown buds in the leaf axils will become large white, intensely fragrant flowers in winter)

Precita Avenue at Alabama Street, center island

6. Precita & Alabama Mexican fan palm (Washingtonia robusta), S Baja & Sonora, Mexico (3 tall trees in the triangle where Precita and Alabama meet)

Alabama Street, south of Precita, west side

7. 1600 Alabama Cajeput tree (Melaleuca quinquenervia), E Australia to Papua New Guinea (3 trees; feel the distinctive spongy bark)

Alabama Street, Precita to Mullen, east side

8. 1619 Alabama Australian willow or wilga (Geijera parviflora), inland E Australia (this tree generally prefers the warmth of the eastern parts of the city)

9. 1625 Alabama Washington thorn (Crataegus phaenopyrum) E USA (note the colorful fruits, but beware of the long thorns on the branches)

10. 1627 Alabama Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), China (a fine multi-trunked specimen, one of many in the neighborhood; last of an ancient lineage)

11. 1639 Alabama Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), E USA to Mexico & Central America

Closeup of bark - Evergreen pear (*Pyrus kawakamii*)

12. 1653 Alabama Evergreen pear (Pyrus kawakamii), Taiwan (only in cold winters does this species lose its leaves in San Francisco)

Mullen Avenue, Alabama to Peralta, south side

13. 40 Mullen Peruvian pepper tree (Schinus molle), Peru & Chile

14. 70 Mullen Karo (Pittosporum crassifolium), New Zealand

Mullen Avenue, Peralta to Franconia, north side

15. 131 Mullen Monterey cypress (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa), Carmel, CA (across the street, along the sloping walkway; a California native, and one of the three most commonly planted trees in SF’s parks)

Mullen Avenue, Franconia to Montcalm, north side

16. 201 Mullen Valley oak (Quercus lobata), California (at the top of the Franconia Steps; very rare in SF)

17. 211 Mullen Pearl acacia (Acacia podalyriifolia), E Australia (the first flowers of the season are opening)

18. 239 Mullen Gold medallion tree (Cassia leptophylla), SE Brazil (in full bloom)

***The next four trees are survivors from the exceptional garden of Tom and Jeong, who moved away some years ago***

19. 285 Mullen Chinese windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei), China (2 trees)

20. 285 Mullen Beaked yucca (Yucca rostrata), Mexico and Texas

21. 285 Mullen Tree aloe (Aloidendron barberae, formerly Aloe bainesii), S Africa to Mozambique (this may be the tallest specimen in the city)

22. 285 Mullen Mountain cabbage tree (Cussonia paniculata), E South Africa (note that the right branch has begun to drop its leaves as the curious flowers develop)

Montcalm Street, Mullen to Franconia, north side

23. 100 Mullen Marina strawberry tree (Arbutus ‘Marina’), hybrid of Mediterranean species (2 trees on Montcalm; this hybrid was first introduced in San Francisco and named for the Marina District)

24. 110 Montcalm Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), Big Sur to SW Oregon; CA coastal native (this species is the tallest tree in the world)

24b. 128 Montcalm Elegant water gum (Tristaniopsis laurina ‘Elegant’), E Australia (this selection of the water gum has longer, glossier leaves than the species)

25.150 Montcalm Avocado tree (Persea americana), Mexico & Central America

A guerrilla carving of a stairway fence post!

***The next seven trees are survivors from the exceptional garden of Geoff and Chip, who moved away many years ago***

26. 198 Montcalm Trumpet bush (Tecoma hybrid), hybrid of tropical American species (this is actually a large shrub, but here it towers over the sidewalk)

27. 198 Montcalm Pindo palm (Butia odorata), SE Brazil & Uruguay

28. 198 Montcalm Guadalupe palm (Brahea edulis), Guadalupe Island, Mexico (this palm is perfectly adapted to SF; it has been used in the median of Cesar Chavez Street in the Mission District)

29. 198 Montcalm Australian fan palm (Livistona australis), E Australia

30. 198 Montcalm King palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana), E Australia

31. 198 Montcalm Norfolk Island palm (Rhopalostylis baueri), Norfolk Island & Kermadec Islands

32. 198 Montcalm Desert fan palm (Washingtonia filifera), S California, Arizona, and N Baja (generally uncommon in SF, as it prefers more summer heat; compare the fatter trunk and the greater number of thread-like filaments on the leaves of this species vs the tall Mexican fan palms seen in the rest of this block of Franconia)

Montcalm Street, Franconia to Peralta, north side

33. 206 Montcalm Italian stone pine (Pinus pinea), Mediterranean Basin (the source of pine nuts/pignoli)

34. 205 Montcalm Nikau or shaving brush palm (Rhopalostylis sapida), New Zealand (the young tree is across the street)

35. 259 Peralta Flannel bush (Fremontodendron californicum), California, Arizona, N Baja (tree is on Montcalm at the corner of the park; beware of the fine hairs on the leaves; they can be irritating)

36. 259 Peralta Hollywood juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘Torulosa’ or ‘Kaizuka’), E Asia (tree is on Montcalm at the corner of the park, behind the flannel bush)

37. 229 Montcalm California buckeye (Aesculus californica ), California & Oregon; a San Francisco native tree! (tree is across the street, to the left of the continuation of Peralta Avenue

Montcalm Street, Peralta to Alabama, north side

38. 300 Montcalm Blue Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica ‘Glauca’), Atlas Mountains of Morocco & Algeria (2 trees)

39. 306 Montcalm Japanese maple (Acer palmatum), Korea and Japan (2 trees)

40. 308 Montcalm Bronze loquat (Rhaphiolepis deflexa, syn. Eriobotrya deflexa), S China and Vietnam

41. 329 Montcalm Lemonwood or tarata (Pittosporum eugenioides), New Zealand (tree is across the street)

Ginkgo (*Ginkgo biloba*) - female fruits

42. 366 Montcalm Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), China (there are many ginkgos in the neighborhood; however, this one is a female, hence the foul-smelling fruit in autumn)

Alabama Street, Montcalm to Mullen, east side

43. 1669 Alabama European weeping birch (Betula pendula), Eurasia & N Africa (not usually well-adapted to SF, but this specimen is outstanding)

This tree walk ends here. To return to its beginning, continue north for one more block to the Precita Park Cafe & Grill.

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; Richard Turner, retired editor of Pacific Horticulture magazine and Sairus Patel, soon to be author of Trees of Stanford and Environs. 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 four of these books!