On another chilly day in late May (will it ever warm up?), three tree geeks (Mike Sullivan, Dick Turner and Sairus Patel) toured the St Francis Wood neighborhood. This neighborhood of elegant homes was developed as an in-town suburb for the well-to-do in 1912, inspired by the City Beautiful movement, with nearby shopping along West Portal and convenient access to downtown via the Muni streetcar system. The famous landscape firm of Omsted Brothers laid out the curvilinear street plan, and numerous locally famous architects designed many of the early homes. The St Francis Homes Association is responsible for the maintenance of the several parks and open spaces and for all the street and park trees. In 2022, the neighborhood was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Something special about this tour: you will see two trees that are “national champions” - the largest of their kind in the country!

From the earliest years, developers have focused on species consistency along each of the avenues in the neighborhood (so each street is populated with just one tree species). The Association continues that practice today, maintaining a decidedly uniform appearance on each street. More diverse and sometimes lavish front gardens are now replacing what had been mostly lawn and shrubbery next to the houses, making a stroll through the neighborhood a delight in spring.

Today’s walk begins at the northeastern corner of the park that wraps around the dramatic St Francis Homes Association Fountain. Start near the intersection of San Jacinto Way and Santa Paula Avenue, then continue along the sidewalk on the north side of the park to San Anselmo Avenue. Cross San Anselmo and head north and northwest to Santa Clara Avenue. Turn left and head south along Santa Clara to St Francis Blvd. Follow St Francis Blvd west, all the way to Junipero Serra Blvd, then turn left (south) along the service road to Monterey Blvd. Follow Monterey Blvd east to Santa Clara, where Monterey becomes San Anselmo. Follow San Anselmo to its intersection with San Jacinto Way, at the southern edge of the park where the tour began. This walk is about 1 ½ 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 24. Note that beginning with #10, we opted to write on the brick strips and diamonds nearest the trees, since the concrete pavement has a rough surface that eats up both white and blue chalk after only a few trees. White arrows on the pavement provide directions whenever a turn is needed.

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 editor of Trees of Stanford and Environs. You can follow Mike and Jason on their tree-themed Instagram pages at @sftreeguy and @loulufan. One other great book on San Francisco trees, while you’re at it: Elizabeth McClintock’s Trees of Golden Gate Park, edited by Richard Turner. If you’re a tree enthusiast, buy all three books!”

We want to acknowledge Matt Ritter, professor of botany at California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo (and a consultant to the St. Francis Woods neighborhood on its trees), for some of the content in this blog piece. All three of us followed Matt on a tour of the neighborhood some months ago and this tour retraces some of that tour and includes some of the content we learned from Matt then.

San Jacinto Way, south of Santa Paula, west side

1. Opposite 299 San Jacinto Santa Cruz Island ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. aspleniifolius), CA’s Channel Islands, except Catalina Island (this large specimen may be the oldest on the CA mainland)

San Jacinto Way, south of Santa Paula, east side

2. 299 San Jacinto New Zealand tea tree (Leptospermum scoparium), New Zealand (2 beautiful trees, one with pink flowers and the other with red flowers, are to the right of the driveway against the house)

**Follow the sidewalk along the north side of the park until the street merges with San Anselmo

Triangular Island at San Anselmo Avenue and Santa Paula Avenue

3. Opposite 180 San Anselmo Prickly melaleuca (Melaleuca styphelioides), E Australia (note the tiny prickly leaves and spongy park; there are two groves of this tree at each end of the traffic island, along San Anselmo)

**Cross San Anselmo Avenue carefully and head north (to the right)**

San Anselmo Avenue, southeast of San Buenaventura, west side

4. 155 San Anselmo Japanese cryptomeria (Cryptomeria japonica), Japan & China (this and the next tree are tucked between the two houses across the street; this is the national tree of Japan, where it is known as “sugi”)

Temu (Luma apiculata), Chile & Argentina (the distinctive cinnamon-colored bark may be difficult to see from the street; forests of this tree in Argentina are said to have inspired Walt Disney’s illustrated forests in Bambi)

bark of London plane tree (*Platanus* x *hispanica*)

5. 160 San Anselmo London plane tree (Platanus x hispanica), hybrid of E USA species and European species; it is among the most commonly planted trees in cities around the world; the tree is seen throughout St Francis Wood; after years of annual pruning (pollarding), the trees are now being allowed to grow unpruned)

San Anselmo Avenue, San Buenaventura to Santa Clara, south side

flowers of red horse chestnut (*Aesculus* x *carnea*); several chestnuts are just beginning to form

6. 140 San Anselmo Red horse chestnut (Aesculus x carnea), hybrid of European and American species (the showy red flowers are just beginning to fade)

Santa Clara Avenue, San Anselmo to St Francis, west side

Monterey pine (*Pinus* *radiata*) (largest one in the Western Hemisphere!)

7. 214 Santa Clara Monterey pine (Pinus radiata), CA native: Año Nuevo, Monterey, Cambria, plus Cedros and Guadalupe islands, MX (most widely planted coniferous tree in the world, mostly for lumber; this specimen is the largest in the Western Hemisphere!)

and a second time for scale - Mike Sullivan and Dick Turner at the base of the tree!

8. 230 Santa Clara grove of three European beech (Fagus sylvatica), Portugal, UK, Sweden to Greece & Bulgaria (one of Europe’s most beautiful native trees, these three display deeply colored foliage and a relatively smooth gray bark)

9. 260 Santa Clara Queen palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana), Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay

10. 270 Santa Clara Ribbon gum (Eucalyptus viminalis), S & E Australia (this large eucalyptus is used extensively in St Francis Wood, and particularly along both sides of Santa Clara; its bark peels off in ribbons)

11. 270 Santa Clara English holly (Ilex aquifolium), Eurasia & N Africa (this specimen originated with two trunks which have slowly merged into one; that can be seen when the trunk is viewed from the left side)

St Francis Blvd, Santa Clara to San Benito, south side

12. 402 St Francis Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis), Canary Islands, Spain (2 trees flank the entry of this elegant home; this is the species seen on Market Street and along the Embarcadero)

St Francis Blvd, San Benito to Santa Ana, south side

13. 340 St Francis Silver dollar gum (Eucalyptus polyanthemos), E Australia (this large species of eucalyptus is used along both sides of Santa Ana)

St Francis Blvd, Santa Ana to San Leandro, south side

14. 240 St Francis Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), Big Sur to SW Oregon; CA coastal native (a tall “hedge” along the rear property line; this species is the tallest tree in the world)

St Francis Blvd, San Fernando to San Rafael, south side

15. 98 St Francis Victorian box (Pittosporum undulatum), E Australia (this tree is used along both sides of San Rafael; intensely fragrant white flowers cycle through the year)

**Continue west and turn south along the service road for Junipero Serra Blvd; this long walk will be worth it.

Monterey Blvd, Junipero Serra to San Rafael, north side

16. Median Red-flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia), SW Australia (this tree is used extensively in St Francis Wood, and particularly in the median of Monterey Blvd; this spectacular specimen at the western end of the median is the largest in the country; produces bright red flowers in summer; among the showiest of trees in SF’s urban forest, we cannot understand why the city is no longer planting this amazing tree)

Red-flowering gum (*Corymbia ficifolia*) - the national champion, largest one in the USA!

San Rafael Way at Monterey, east side

17. 95 San Rafael Purple-leaf plum (Prunus cerasifera), Eurasia (pink flowers usually appear by February; formerly SF’s most planted street tree; totally without leaves through fall and winter)

Monterey Blvd, San Rafael to San Fernando, north side

18. 95 San Rafael Mayten (Maytenus boaria), Chile

Monterey Blvd, San Fernando to San Leandro, north side

19. 1950 Monterey Blackwood acacia (Acacia melanoxylon), SE Australia

Monterey Blvd, Santa Ana to San Benito, north side

20. 195 Santa Ana Dutch elms (Ulmus x hollandica), hybrid of European elm species (this tree is used along both sides of Santa Ana, interspersed with Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia), which has smaller leaves and a mottled bark)

Park on Monterey Blvd, east of 1600 Monterey, north side

beautiful agave found in a lovely garden on Monterey Boulevard

21. East of 1600 Monterey Monterey cypress (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa), Carmel, CA (one of the three most commonly planted trees in SF’s parks)

22. East of 1600 Monterey Monterey pine (Pinus radiata), CA native: Año Nuevo, Monterey, Cambria, plus Cedros and Guadalupe islands, MX (most widely planted coniferous tree in the world, mostly for lumber)

**Continue straight at the intersection with Santa Clara Avenue; the street becomes San Anselmo Avenue

San Anselmo Avenue, Santa Clara to San Buenaventura, north side

23. 270 San Anselmo 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)

San Andreas Way at San Anselmo, north side

24. Opposite 201 San Anselmo Water gum (Tristaniopsis laurina), E Australia (this tree grows in stream-side locations in the wild, hence the common name; several trees used along San Andreas; SF’s most commonly planted street tree)

Elegant water gum (Tristaniopsis laurina ‘Elegant’), E Australia (this selection of the water gum has longer, glossier leaves than the species; it is the tree nearest the corner, to the left of the water gum)