A gorgeous autumn day greeted us for a walk through the West Portal neighborhood, in the western half of San Francisco. This neighborhood of comfortable homes adjoins the thriving shopping district along West Portal Avenue. Sandy soils, persistent winds, and plenty of fog challenge the growth of some tree species, but the neighborhood is, nevertheless, filled with a notable diversity of trees.]

The West Portal walk begins and ends at the Starbucks on the corner of Vicente Street and West Portal Avenue. From there, it heads southwest on West Portal to 14th Avenue, then northwest on 14th, and southwest on Wawona Street to 15th Avenue. After crossing to the northwest side of Wawona, the walk continues back northeast on Wawona to Vicente, and then west on Vicente to 14th. Crossing Vicente to the north side, the walk leads east on Vicente to Madrone Street, north on Madrone to Ulloa Street, east on Ulloa to Wawona, then southwest on Wawona to Vicente, and finally east on Vicente to its beginning at West Portal. This walk is a little over one mile 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 55. White arrows on the pavement provide directions whenever a turn is needed.

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

West Portal Avenue, Vicente St to 14th Ave, northwest side

1. 100 West Portal London plane tree (Platanus x acerifolia), hybrid of Eastern USA species and European species (there are clusters of London plane trees at each intersection along West Portal)

2. 124 West Portal Lemon bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus), Eastern Australia

3. 128 West Portal Glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum), Southern China

4. 242 West Portal Victorian box (Pittosporum undulatum), Eastern Australia (white flowers, very fragrant)

This pattern of London plane, lemon bottlebrush, privet, and Victorian box continues for most of the length of West Portal, on both sides of the street. At 14th Avenue, turn right.

14th Avenue, West Portal to Wawona, northeast side

5. 2700 - 14th Monterey cypress (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa), California native - native to small areas near Carmel and Point Lobos

Bronze loquat (Raphiolepis deflexa) — Bronze loquat (*Raphiolepis deflexa)*

Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervivens ‘Glauca’), E Mediterranean (the candle-shaped conifers next to the fence)

At Wawona Street, turn left.

Wawona Street, 14th to 15th, southeast side

6. 329 Wawona Kwanzan flowering cherry (Prunus serrulata ‘Kwanzan’), E Asia (5 trees in a row)

7. 345 Wawona Bronze loquat (Raphiolepis deflexa, syn. Eriobotrya deflexa), South China and Vietnam

8. 359 Wawona Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), E USA to Mexico & C America (good fall color, even in SF)

9. 371 Wawona Peppermint willow (Agonis flexuosa), SW Australia (a particularly fine specimen)

10. 387 Wawona Queen palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana), Southern Brazil (2 trees)

11. 2700 - 15th King palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamii), E Australia (tree is on Wawona)

Wawona Street, 15th to 14th, northwest side

12. 380 Wawona Torbay Dazzler cabbage tree (Cordyline australis ‘Torbay Dazzler’), New Zealand

13. 370 Wawona Moonlight grevillea (Grevillea ‘Moonlight’), hybrid of Australian species

14. 350 Wawona Giant bird-of-paradise (Strelitzia nicolai), S Africa

15. 320 Wawona Marina strawberry tree (Arbutus ‘Marina’), hybrid of Mediterranean species, first introduced in San Francisco - the interesting San Francisco story can be found here

Monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana) — Monkey puzzle tree (*Araucaria araucana*)

16. 320 Wawona Princess bush (Tibouchina urvilleana), S Brazil (usually a shrub, sometimes becoming a tree; notable for its intense purple flowers)

17. 320 Wawona European weeping birch (Betula pendula), Eurasia (not usually well-adapted to SF)

18. 300 Wawona Mayten (Maytenus boaria), Chile

Wawona Street, 14th to Vicente, northwest side

19. 290 Wawona Monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana), Chile (stiff sharply pointed leaves are said to prohibit monkeys, or anything else, from climbing the trees)

New Zealand tea tree (Leptospermum scoparium) — New Zealand tea tree (*Leptospermum scoparium)*

20. 250 Wawona Saratoga laurel (Laurus azorica ‘Saratoga’), Azores and Canary Islands (selected form introduced by Saratoga Horticultural Foundation)

21. 250 Wawona Lemon bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus), E Australia

22. 242 Wawona Japanese maple (Acer palmatum), Korea & Japan

23. 242 Wawona Olive tree (Olea europaea), Mediterranean Basin

24. 222 Wawona New Zealand tea tree (Leptospermum scoparium), New Zealand (two color forms here and a third one across the street; all well adapted to SF’s climate and soils)

25. 218 Wawona Boxleaf azara (Azara microphylla), Chile

Bunya bunya (Araucaria bidwillii) - a City champion for the species; biggest on San Francisco’s streets! — Bunya bunya (*Araucaria bidwillii*) - a City champion for the species; biggest on San Francisco’s streets!

26. 218 Wawona Apple tree (Malus domestica), apples have been cultivated since ancient times, but the species is native to Kazakhstan

Vicente Street, Wawona to 14th, south side

27. 201 Vicente Bunya bunya (Araucaria bidwillii), E. Australia (City champion: biggest in SF and an amazing specimen! I gave this a “top 10 in San Francisco” rating on my list of SF’s best trees)

28. 201/219 Vicente Italian stone pine (Pinus pinea), Mediterranean Basin (source of pine nuts/pignoli; young specimen in front, older tree in back)

29. 219 Vicente Blackwood acacia (Acacia melanoxylon), Southeast Australia

30. 227 Vicente Giant yucca (Yucca gigantea), Central America

31. 227 Vicente Chinese windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei), China

Mediterranean fan palm (Chamaerops humilis), Western Mediterranean Basin

32. 235 Vicente Pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana), Brazil

33. 243 Vicente Primrose tree (Lagunaria patersonii), Australia and South Pacific Islands

34. 251 Vicente Washington thorn (Crataegus phaenopyrum) Eastern USA

35. 265 Vicente Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), Southeastern USA

36. 265 Vicente Cabbage tree (Cussonia spicata), South Africa

Vicente Street, 14th to Forest Side, north side

37. 238 Vicente New Zealand Christmas tree, pōhutukawa in Māori (Metrosideros excelsa), New Zealand (widely planted in SF, where it loves the climate)

38. 238 Vicente Grapefruit tree (Citrus x paradisi), hybrid of Asian species

39. 238 Vicente White champaca (Magnolia x alba), hybrid of Southeast Asian species (watch for the fragrant white flowers tucked within the foliage)

40. 200 Vicente English holly (Ilex aquifolium), Western Europe and North Africa

41. 200 Vicente Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis), Canary Islands

Madrone Street, Vicente to Ulloa, west side

42. 180 Madrone Silver dollar gum (Eucalyptus polyanthemos), E Australia

43. 164 Madrone Red-flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia), SW Australia (this tree loves SF’s climate)

44. 138 Madrone Purple-leaf plum (Prunus cerasifera), Eurasia (formerly SF’s most planted tree; an early leaf drop is common in the drier sandy soils of western SF)

***Cross Madrone Street carefully.***

45. 155 Madrone Ray Hartman ceanothus (Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman’), hybrid of CA native species

46. 109 Madrone Hollywood juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘Torulosa’ or ‘Kaizuka’), East Asia

Ulloa Street, Madrone to Wawona, south side

47. 101 Madrone Deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara), Himalayas

48. 1001 Ulloa Water gum or small-leaf tristania (Tristaniopsis laurina), Eastern Australia (SF’s most commonly planted tree over the last decade)

49. 1001 Ulloa Lily-of-the-valley tree (Clethra arborea), Madeira (rarely very happy in SF)

Tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica), Eastern USA

Wawona Street, Ulloa to Vicente, northwest side

50. 1001 Ulloa Marri (Corymbia calophylla), W Australia (looks like a white-flowered Corymbia ficifolia, #43, but a distinct species with differently shaped fruits). This may be the largest of this species on San Francisco’s streets - it’s definitely the largest we know of!

51. 122 Wawona Mayten (Maytenus boaria), Chile

52. 126 Wawona Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria heterophylla), Australia, Norfolk Island (it’s the tall “Christmas tree” in the rear yards of the houses across the street)

***Cross Wawona Street carefully.

53. 141 Wawona Evergreen pear (Pyrus kawakamii), Taiwan

54. 159 Wawona Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana), China and Vietnam

Vicente Street, Wawona to West Portal, south side

55. 201 Wawona Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica), Eastern Asia (tree is on Vicente; though usually grown as a shrub for its beautiful late winter/spring flowers, Japanese camellia is actually a small tree)

This walking tour was organized by Mike Sullivan, author of The Trees of San Francisco (if you like this tour, there are 12 more neighborhood tree tours in Mike’s book), Jason Dewees, horticulturist at Flora Grubb Gardens and author of Designing with Palms; and Richard Turner, retired editor of Pacific Horticulture magazine and editor of Trees of Golden Gate Park. If you’re a tree enthusiast, buy all three books! You can follow Mike (@sftreeguy) and Jason (@loulufan) on Instagram.