Duboce Triangle is a popular residential neighborhood defined by Market Street, Castro Street, and Duboce Avenue, at the northeastern corner of Eureka Valley. Dense with Victorian row houses alongside Marina-style buildings and a few bland structures from the 50s and 60s, the neighborhood may be most notable for its two major tree-lined streets: Noe and Sanchez. These two streets, with their arching canopies of mature trees planted in the early 70s, bear a strong resemblance to the elm-lined residential streets that filled cities of the East Coast and Midwest a half-century ago.

Our walk begins below The Lookout, on the corner of Market, Noe and 16th streets, across from the venerable Cafe Flore. It heads north on Noe to Beaver Street, west on Beaver to Castro Street, north on Castro to Henry Street, east on Henry to Noe, north on Noe to Duboce Avenue, east on Duboce to Walter Street, south on Walter to 14th Street, east on 14th to Sanchez, south on Sanchez to Henry, west on Henry to Noe, and south on Noe to 16th (in front of Cafe Flore), across the street from where the tour began. This walk is approximately 1 ½ miles long.

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

Our trio of tree geeks responsible for this tour is the same: Mike Sullivan, author of Trees of San Francisco, Jason Dewees (author of Designing with Palms) and Richard Turner (retired editor of Pacific Horticulture).

Queen palms (Syagrus romanzoffiana) in foreground; a Mexican fan palm (Washingtonia robusta) behind them on the right — Queen palms (*Syagrus romanzoffiana*) in foreground; a Mexican fan palm (*Washingtonia robusta*) behind them on the right

Beaver Street, Noe to Castro, south side

1. Beaver, west of Noe Queen palms (Syagrus romanzoffiana), Southern Brazil (4 trees alongside of the Noe-Beaver Community Garden)

2. 7 Beaver Mexican fan palm (Washingtonia robusta), Baja California & Sonora, Mexico

3. 7 Beaver Ovens wattle (Acacia pravissima), Eastern Australia (watch for the soft yellow flowers within the next month)

4. 9 Beaver Kentia palm (Howea forsteriana), Lord Howe Island, Australia

5. 9 Beaver Water gum (Tristaniopsis laurina), Eastern Australia (this tree grows in streamside locations in the wild; hence the common name; it is San Francisco’s most commonly planted street tree)

6. 11 Beaver Primrose tree (Lagunaria patersonii), Australia and South Pacific Islands

7. 21 Beaver Cabbage tree or tī koūka in Māori (Cordyline australis), New Zealand

8. 21 Beaver Japanese maple (Acer palmatum), Japan, China, Korea

9. 20 Beaver Japanese blueberry tree (Elaeocarpus decipiens), East Asia (across the street)

10. 22 Beaver Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis), Canary Islands (across the street)

11. 69 Beaver Purple-leaf plum (Prunus cerasifera), Eurasia (formerly San Francisco’s most planted street tree)

Turn right on Castro. Castro Street, Beaver to Henry, east side

12. 245 Castro Sweet michelia (Magnolia doltsopa), Himalayas (brown fuzzy buds will open into large fragrant white flowers in a few weeks)

Torrey pine (Pinus torreyana) - San Francisco’s biggest specimen of this tree, at Castro and Henry Streets — Torrey pine (*Pinus* *torreyana*) - San Francisco’s biggest specimen of this tree, at Castro and Henry Streets

13. 239 Castro Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), Southeast USA (both sides of Castro are lined with these trees, from near Market to 14th streets, all planted in the early 70s)

Northwest Corner of Castro and Henry streets

14. School grounds Torrey pine (Pinus torreyana), California native: La Jolla, San Diego and Santa Rosa Island (its very limited natural distribution makes it the rarest pine in the world; this one, on the corner of the school grounds, is the largest in San Francisco, a City Champion!)

Turn right (downhill) on Henry Street, Castro to Noe, north side

15. 197 Henry Ginkgos (Ginkgo biloba), China (row of 4 trees, on the south side of Henry; these are all male trees, hence no smelly fruit)

16. 190 Henry Marina strawberry tree (Arbutus ‘Marina’), hybrid of Mediterranean species (3 trees here, but many can be found throughout the neighborhood; the tree was first introduced in San Francisco - the interesting San Francisco story can be found here)

17. 180 Henry American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), Eastern USA to Mexico and Central America

18. 164 Henry London plane tree (Platanus x acerifolia), hybrid of Eastern North American and European species

19. 156 Henry Red-flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia), Southwest Australia

20. 148 Noe California buckeye (Aesculus californica), California; a San Francisco native tree! (tree is on Henry; note the silvery trunk)

21. 148 Noe Ray Hartman ceanothus (Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman’), hybrid of CA native species (tree is on Henry)

22. 148 Noe Hibiscus tree (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis), tropical Asia (tree is on Henry; not known to thrive in San Francisco’s cool climate, but this specimen is doing well)

23. 148 Noe Purple potato bush (Lycianthes rantonnetii), Paraguay (tree is on Henry; typically a large shrub, this one has been trained into a tree-like form; flowers all year)

Turn left on Noe Street; Noe Street, Henry to 14th, west side

24. Noe at Henry Shamel ash (Fraxinus uhdei), Mexico (Noe is lined with these trees, mostly clustered in the bulb-outs at each intersection, all planted in the early 70s)

Carob (Ceratonia siliqua) - San Francisco’s biggest carob, at 138 Noe Street — Carob (*Ceratonia siliqua*) - San Francisco’s biggest carob, at 138 Noe Street

25. 138 Noe Carob (Ceratonia siliqua), East Mediterranean Basin (San Francisco’s biggest carob a “City Champion”!). The seed pods of this tree can be used to make a chocolate substitute—though not recommended for true chocolate lovers.

Noe Street, 14th to Duboce, east side

26. Median, north of 14th Silver dollar gum (Eucalyptus polyanthemos), Eastern Australia (this tree is repeated in the median at Noe and Duboce; note the nearly round, silvery juvenile leaves, thought to resemble silver dollars)

27. 111 Noe Brisbane box (Lophostemon confertus), Eastern Australia (trees are on Noe and 14th at this address, as well as across the street at 892 - 14th; note the varying characters of the bark on these trees)

28. 81 Noe Marri (Corymbia calophylla), W Australia (looks like a white-flowered version of Corymbia ficifolia, #30B, but this is a distinct species with white flowers and differently shaped fruits

29. 69 Noe Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea ‘Rosenka’), Brazil (normally a vigorous vine, this specimen has been carefully staked and pruned into a small tree)

30. 69 Noe Olive (Olea europaea), Mediterranean Basin

30-B. 61 Noe Red-flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia), Southwest Australia

31. 43 Noe Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), a California native! (tree is across the street, within hospital parking lot; coast live oak is one of the few trees native to San Francisco)

Turn right on Duboce; Duboce Avenue, Noe to Walter, south side

32. 575 Duboce Flowering cherry (Prunus serrulata), East Asia

Turn right on Walter; Walter Street, Duboce to 14th, east side

33. 27 Walter Indian laurel fig (Ficus microcarpa ‘Nitida’), South and Southeast Asia to northern Australia (a common, although problematic, street tree throughout San Francisco)

trunk of an olive tree (Olea europaea) at 47 Walter — trunk of an olive tree (*Olea europaea*) at 47 Walter

34. 47 Walter Olive (Olea europaea), Mediterranean Basin

35. 65 Walter Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia), Argentina, Bolivia

36. 69 Walter Lemon bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus), eastern Australia

Turn left on 14th; 14th Street, Walter to Sanchez, north side

37. 822 - 14th Red maple (Acer rubrum), Ontario to Florida to Texas

**Turn right (south) on Sanchez to Henry, under a canopy of Brisbane box (Lophostemon confertus) on the west side and red-flowering gums (Corymbia ficifolia)on the east side**

Median on Sanchez at Henry streets

38. Median Silver dollar gum (Eucalyptus polyanthemos), Eastern Australia (the bigger tree; note the more slender adult foliage, compared to tree #26)

Brisbane box (Lophostemon confertus), Eastern Australia (the smaller tree, under the silver dollar gum)

Red maple (Acer rubrum) at 822 14th Street — Red maple (*Acer rubrum*) at 822 14th Street

Turn right on Henry; Henry Street, Sanchez to Noe, north side

39. 148 Sanchez Victorian box (Pittosporum undulatum), Eastern Australia (tree is on Henry)

40. 16 Henry After Dark peppermint willow (Agonis flexuosa ‘Jervis Bay Afterdark’), Southwest Australian cultivar (often less vigorous than the green-leafed species)

41. 22 Henry Trident maple (Acer buergerianum), East Asia

42. 64 Henry Red-flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia), Southwest Australia (this one has coral orange flowers)

**Stroll south on Noe, under a canopy of Shamel ashes (Fraxinus uhdei) at each intersection; they were noted at stop #24.

Turn left on Noe; Noe Street, 15th to Beaver, east side

43. 233 Noe Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia), East Asia

Noe Street at Beaver, west side

44. 240 Noe Evergreen pear (Pyrus kawakamii), Taiwan (several trees are on both Noe and Beaver)

The Duboce Triangle Tree Walk ends at Noe and Market, in front of Cafe Flore.

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!