For our 50th (!) chalk tree tour, we chose Nob Hill - one of the most iconic of the city’s many historic neighborhoods. Crowned by the magnificent 20th century Gothic-style Grace Cathedral, the hilltop is the home of the city’s finest hotels, the only Gilded Age mansion to survive the 1906 earthquake and fire (built by James Flood), and beautiful Huntington Park—a formal oasis in the heart of the city. As we chalked this tour on the first day of Pride Month, colorful flags and banners waved from all the hotels, along with rainbow-painted steps from Taylor Street up to the Cathedral’s main entrance, all in honor of the city’s diverse and inclusive culture. With the exception of the Flood mansion, all of the buildings in this predominantly residential neighborhood were built after the 1906 earthquake; the diversity of architectural styles is captivating. For such a dense neighborhood, trees are surprisingly plentiful and unexpectedly diverse.

Today’s walk is a simple one. It begins at the Interfaith Memorial Labyrinth at the top and to the side of the steps at Grace Cathedral, which is on Taylor Street between California and Sacramento streets. The Labyrinth is ringed with some particularly fine purple leaf plums (a Prunus cerasifera cultivar). From the Labyrinth, follow the walkway north towards the Canary Island date palm, which is tree #1. Once down at street level, head west on Sacramento past Jones Street to Golden Court. After exploring this fascinating pedestrian lane, continue west on Sacramento past Leavenworth Street to Kimball Place, another intriguing lane. Then, return to Leavenworth and head north to Clay Street, east on Clay to Taylor, and back south on Taylor to the Cathedral. Cross Sacramento and Taylor streets to enter Huntington Park for a delightful spot to sit and rest your feet. This walk is almost a mile and a half in length.

Grace Cathedral’s labyrinth, surrounded by purple leaf plum trees (*Prunus cerasifera*)

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

Left to right: Jason Dewees, Mike Sullivan, Sairus Patel and Richard Turner (in front of a king palm - (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana)

The street addresses provided below will help when the chalk has faded. Most of the trees on this walk are planted in sidewalk pockets; a few are planted within the front or rear gardens of homes along the route. And a few are found in the quaint and curious dead-end lanes that are found in this neighborhood—reminiscent of the mythical Barbary Lane in Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City.

Canary Island date palm (*Phoenix canariensis*)

2. 1230 Sacramento Marina strawberry tree (Arbutus ‘Marina’), hybrid of Mediterranean species (tree is across the street; first introduced in San Francisco)

**Note the beautifully shaped bougainvillea on the ornate building next door to 1230.**

3. N side of Cathedral Italian buckthorn (Rhamnus alaternus), Mediterranean Basin (this is typically a shrub but has been trained into a tree form here)

**Note the well-planted vertical garden, filled with a variety of ferns, on the north wall of the Cathedral School for Boys, just east of Jones.**

Sacramento Street, Jones to Golden Court, south side

4. 1155 Jones Indian laurel fig (Ficus microcarpa ‘Nitida’), southern Asia to N Australia (the entire block is planted with this tree, and other blocks as well; formerly one of SF’s most planted trees)

5. 1329 Sacramento Allspice magnolia (Magnolia x foggii), hybrid of two Asian species, M. figo and M. doltsopa (tree is growing in the narrow and dark gap between the buildings; despite the deep shade, it is flowering heavily; enjoy the intense fragrance of the white blossoms; it is likely a city champion)

a dragon guarding the trees on Golden Court

Golden Court, south of Sacramento

6. 10 Golden Lacebark tree (Brachychiton discolor), Eastern Australia (this rarely planted tree is 25 years old, and is a “City Champion” - the biggest of its species in San Francisco. We know of only one other lacebark tree in SF, so this was an unexpected and delightful surprise!

7. 8 Golden Iochroma fuchsioides, Andes of Ecuador and Columbia (typically known as a long-flowering shrub in SF, it will grow to tree-like dimensions in the Andes; it has no common name)

8. 9 Golden Lilly pilly tree (Syzygium smithii, previously known as Acmena smithii), E Australia (note the clusters of tiny white flowers and pale lavender fruits)

Karaka (*Corynocarpus laevigatus*) leaves

9. Golden Karaka (Corynocarpus laevigatus), New Zealand

10. Golden Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), West Coast & Rocky Mountains (tall conifer with needle-like leaves, almost hidden by all the shrubs; a CA native tree!)

**Continue west on Sacramento, past Leavenworth, to Kimball Place**

Kimball Place, south of Sacramento

11. South end of Kimball Cabbage tree or tī kōuka in Māori (Cordyline australis), New Zealand

Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), Big Sur to SW Oregon; CA coastal native (2 trees rising out of this crowded space; this species is the tallest tree in the world)

Japanese maple (Acer palmatum), Japan, China, Korea

**Return to Leavenworth and head north**

Leavenworth Street, Sacramento to Clay, east side

12. 1202 Leavenworth Red-flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia), SW Australia (produces bright red, orange, or pink flowers in summer; among the best and showiest of trees in SF’s urban forest; we cannot understand why the city is no longer planting this amazing tree!)

Mike, looking incredulous that the Public Works Department has banned the planting of SF’s most amazing tree!

13. 1228 Leavenworth Brisbane box (Lophostemon confertus), E Australia

14. 1250 Leavenworth River wattle (Acacia cognata), SE Australia

15. 120 Leavenworth King palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana), E Australia

One-sided bottlebrush (Calothamnus quadrifidus), Western Australia (this is usually a large shrub, not a tree; rarely seen in SF gardens)

Clay Street, Leavenworth to Jones, south side

16. 1385 Clay Olive (Olea europaea), Mediterranean Basin (4 young trees)

17. 1357 Clay Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), China (last of an ancient lineage of gymnosperms) Note that there is another ginkgo just past this one, and this 2nd ginkgo is a female, bearing malodorous fruits.

18. 1340 Clay Chitalpa (xChitalpa tashkentensis), hybrid of two native USA species, one from the SW deserts and one from the Midwest (3 small trees are in sidewalk pockets across the street; this hybrid species typically languishes in SF’s cool summer climate; reflected heat off the building appears to benefit these specimens; watch for soft lavender pink flowers later in the summer)

19. 1301 Clay New Zealand Christmas tree, pōhutukawa in Māori (Metrosideros excelsa), New Zealand (several trees on both sides of Clay and along Jones; this tree flowers most reliably in the summer months, which would be Christmas time in NZ, south of the equator)

Clay Street, Jones to Taylor, south side

20a. 1250 Jones Elegant water gum (Tristaniopsis laurina ‘Elegant’), E Australia (tree is on Clay; this selection of the water gum has longer, glossier leaves than the species)

20b. 1216 Clay Avocado tree (Persea americana), Mexico & Central America (a small tree is poking out of the entry courtyard of the building across the street)

21. 1217 Clay Pygmy date palm (Phoenix roebelenii), southern China, Laos, Vietnam

22. 1217 Coppertone Indian hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis ‘Coppertone’), hybrid of two E Asian species, Eriobotrya deflexa and Rhaphiolepis indica (3 round-headed trees across the street; new spring growth is coppery in color)

Taylor Street, Clay to Sacramento, west side

23. 1137 Taylor Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia), China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam

Huntington Park, all sides

24. Huntington Park block London plane tree (Platanus x hispanica, formerly Platanus acerifolia), hybrid of E USA species and European species (this tree surrounds the park, and there are many more throughout the neighborhood, almost all of them pollarded as this one is; this hybrid species is among the most commonly planted tree in cities around the world).

25. Huntington Park, south side Ray Hartman ceanothus (Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman’), hybrid of CA native species (clusters of soft blue flowers in winter/early spring). This one is one of the largest we know of in San Francisco - it may be a “City Champion”!

Today’s walk ends here. Take time to enjoy the quiet beauty of Huntington Park, where there are a variety of other trees, including a number of blackwood acacias (Acacia melanoxylon) and a stunning specimen of Ray Hartman ceanothus (Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman’) next to Mrs James Flood’s fountain in the southeast corner of the park.

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. 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!