On a bitterly cold day, the (now) four tree geeks toured the Bernal Heights neighborhood on the south side of bustling Cortland Avenue. This neighborhood of modest homes is gradually gentrifying, with some fine remodels and upgrades. The diversity of trees was surprising, including a number of exceptional specimens of relatively common trees, along with a few new additions to our tree list.

Today’s walk begins in front of the beautiful Bernal Heights Branch Library on Cortland Avenue. The walk leads east on Cortland to Ellsworth Street, south on Ellsworth to Ogden Avenue, west on Ogden to Anderson Street, north on Anderson to Tompkins Avenue, west on Tompkins to Andover Street, briefly south on Andover to Highland Avenue, west on Highland to Bennington Street, north on Bennington to Cortland, and finally east on Cortland to the start of the walk at the Library. 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 39. White arrows on the pavement provide directions whenever a turn is needed.

The street addresses provided below will help when the chalk has faded. Most of the trees on this walk are planted in pockets in the sidewalk pavement; a few are planted within the front or rear gardens of the homes along the route; and three trees are in the garden maintained by Wild Side West, one of the oldest lesbian-owned pubs in the city.

And before we start on the tour, a photo below of what I (Mike Sullivan) think is the most amazing tree in Bernal Heights - a fern pine (Afrocarpus gracilior) at 16 Bronte Street. It’s a magnificent tree, and I’ve made it one of San Francisco’s “top 10” (well, top 13 at the moment and growing). It was too far away for us to visit on this tour, but well worth a visit!

fern pine (Afrocarpus gracilior) at 16 Bronte

Cortland Avenue, Andover to Moultrie, south side

1. 500 Cortland Flowering ash trees (Fraxinus ornus), Spain to Austria, Lebanon, & Armenia (2 trees flanking the main entry to the library; official SF city landmark trees)

Cortland Avenue, Moultrie to Anderson, south side

2. 620 Cortland Brisbane box (Lophostemon confertus), E Australia

Cortland Avenue, Anderson to Ellsworth, south side

3. 704 Cortland Red-flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia), SW Australia (3 magnificent trees; that swelling of the base is called a lignotuber, which helps the tree recover after a forest fire; usually produces bright red flowers in summer; we do not understand why the city is no longer planting this amazing tree)

**Turn right (south) on Ellsworth and walk to Jarboe Avenue

Jarboe Avenue, Ellsworth to Anderson, south side

4. 400 Ellsworth Australian willow or wilga (Geijera parviflora), E & SE Australia (4 trees along the full block of Jarboe; this tree generally prefers the warmth of the eastern parts of the city)

Ellsworth Street, Jarboe to Tompkins, west side

5. 461 Ellsworth Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), Ireland to Portugal and the Mediterranean (across the street; a fine specimen)

6. 496 Ellsworth Chinese windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei), China

7. 498 Ellsworth Evergreen pear (Pyrus kawakamii), Taiwan (4 trees on Tompkins; only in cold winters does this species lose its leaves in San Francisco)

Ellsworth Street, Tompkins to Odgen, west side

8. 502 Ellsworth Elegant water gum (Tristaniopsis laurina ‘Elegant’), E Australia

9. 502 Ellsworth Marina strawberry tree (Arbutus ‘Marina’), hybrid of Mediterranean species (this hybrid was first introduced in San Francisco)

10. 518 Ellsworth Hybrid banana magnolia (Magnolia x foggii), hybrid of Asian species, M. figo and M. doltsopa (watch for fragrant white flowers opening from the furry brown buds)

11. 524 Ellsworth Coral-bark Japanese maple (Acer palmatum ‘Sango-Kaku’), a selected variety of the species from Japan and Korea

12. 533 Ellsworth Cajeput tree (Melaleuca quinquenervia), E Australia (tree is across the street; feel its spongy bark). A fine specimen!

Queen palm (*Syagrus romanzoffiana*); proud owners on the stairs; Jason, Mike and Richard below (thanks for taking the photo, Sairus!)

13. 562 Ellsworth Queen palm (Syagrus romanzoffiana), S Brazil (this fine specimen benefits from an underground flow of water). We had a long chat with the owners of this lovely home, who remembered planting it in 2007, and were assured that it would never reach the wires! The beautiful 3rd floor of this building was created in a renovation, believe it or not.

14. 585 Ellsworth Giant yucca (Yucca gigantea, formerly Y. elephantipes), Mexico & Central America (2 trees across the street)

**Turn right on Ogden and walk two blocks to Anderson, north side

Ogden Avenue, east of Anderson, north side

15. 585 Anderson Primrose tree (Lagunaria patersonii), Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands (note the vast number of fruits on the tree from last year’s flowering)

Ogden Avenue, west of Anderson, north side

16. 584 Anderson Peppermint willow (Agonis flexuosa), SW Australia (2 trees on Ogden, uphill from the palm; note this well planted and tended water conserving garden)

Anderson Avenue, Ogden to Tompkins, west side

17. 578 Anderson Calomondin/calamansi (Citrus x microcarpa), hybrid of SE Asian citrus species - in front of a variegated dwarf umbrella tree (Schefflera arboricola), Taiwan & Hainan

543 Anderson Water gum (Tristaniopsis laurina), E Australia (this tree grows in stream-side locations in the wild, hence the common name. This is San Francisco’s most commonly planted street tree, and this is one of the best specimens we know of in the City!

19. 536 Anderson Silk-floss tree (Ceiba speciosa), Brazil, Bolivia, & Argentina (large pink flowers appear at the end of summer; note the large prickles on the trunk, intended to discourage animals from climbing the tree)

20. 519 Anderson Orange tree (Citrus x sinensis), hybrid of Asian species (only orange grown as a street tree in San Francisco that we know of) and lemon tree (Citrus x limon) hybrid of SE Asia species

21. 501 Anderson Plum tree (Prunus domestica), Eurasia (an exceptional specimen, just beginning to flower)

Tompkins, east of Anderson, south side

22. 493 Anderson Bronze loquat (Rhaphiolepis deflexa, syn. Eriobotrya deflexa), S China and Vietnam (across the street, with bronzy new foliage)

Bronze loquat (*Rhaphiolepis deflexa,* syn. Eriobotrya deflexa) on the left; two trees to the right are Majestic Beauty Indian hawthorn (*Rhaphiolepis* x ‘Montic’)

23. 493 Anderson Majestic Beauty Indian hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis x ‘Montic’), S China & Japan to SE Asia (2 trees across the street, with pale pink flowers)

24. 501 Anderson Red ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon), E & SE Australia (behind the fence in the rear garden; note the beautiful bark; red to pink flowers in spring)

**Head west on Tompkins to Moultrie

Moultrie, north of Tompkins, east side

25. 579 Moultrie Little Gem magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora ‘Little Gem’), SE USA (this extraordinary specimen is a few doors north of Tompkins)

Tompkins, midway between Moultrie and Andover, north side

26. 479 Andover Avocado tree (Persea americana), Mexico & Central America (peek over the fence to see this tree laden with fruit in the rear garden, a few properties north of Tompkins)

27. 491 Andover Glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum), S China

Andover Street, north of Highland, west side

28. 480 Andover Snow-in-summer tree or flax-leaf paperbark (Melaleuca linariifolia), E Australia (feel the spongy bark; white flowers cover the tree in summer)

Highland Avenue, Andover to Bennington, south side

29. 500 Andover Italian bay tree or Grecian laurel (Laurus nobilis), Mediterranean Basin (leaves of this tree are the bay leaves used in cooking)

The only loquat tree house in San Francisco :) Loquat (*Rhaphiolepis loquata*, syn. *Eriobotrya japonica*)

30. 486 Andover Loquat (Rhaphiolepis loquata, syn. Eriobotrya japonica), SE China, Vietnam, & Taiwan (watch for edible fruits later in the year; the only loquat we know of that supports a tree house)

31. 378 Highland Italian stone pine (Pinus pinea), Mediterranean Basin (the source of pine nuts/pignoli)

32. 360 Highland Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia), Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil

33. 348 Highland Purple-leaf plum (Prunus cerasifera), Eurasia (this is its season with pink flowers usually appearing by February; formerly SF’s most planted street tree; totally without leaves through fall and winter)

34. 345 Bennington Gold medallion tree (Cassia leptophylla), Brazil (2 trees on Highland and a 3rd on Bennington; when more mature, these trees will produce clusters of golden yellow flowers on top)

35. 328 Highland Western sycamore (Platanus racemosa), California native (uncommon on San Francisco streets, this tree is an exceptional specimen)

**Head north on Bennington, east side

Bennington Street, Highland to Newman, east side

36. 225 Bennington Weeping bottlebrush (Callistemon viminalis), E Australia (an exceptional specimen)

Bennington Street, Newman to Ellert, east side

37. 200 Bennington Peruvian pepper tree (Schinus molle), Peru to Chile (across the street)

Bennington Street, Ellert to Cortland, east side

38. 400 Cortland Indian laurel fig (Ficus microcarpa ‘Nitida’), S Asia to N Australia (formerly one of SF’s most planted trees)

Cortland Avenue, Bennington to Andover, south side

39. 424 Cortland If you’re over 21, head inside and through the Wild Side West saloon (oldest lesbian-owned bar in San Francisco) to see the following trees in the garden:

Dragon tree (Dracaena draco), Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira, and W Morocco (grayish leaves; cool tree, but too rare in SF; this is the largest specimen we know of in the city)

Giant yucca (Yucca gigantea, formerly Y. elephantipes), Mexico & Central America (green leaves; a particularly large specimen)

Italian stone pine (Pinus pinea), Mediterranean Basin (3 trees at the S and W edge of the garden; the source of pine nuts/pignoli)

The walk ends here, one block west of its start at the Bernal Heights Branch Library. Feel free to linger for a libation at the always-friendly Wild Side West, or at one of the coffee shops along Cortland Avenue.

This walking tour of Russian Hill’s street trees was organized by Mike Sullivan, author of The Trees of San Francisco, 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.

This walking tour of Noe Valley’s street trees 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. 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!”