Lower Haight #covidtreetour (6-20-20)
This week’s tour is in the Lower Haight, a tree- and bike-filled neighborhood between Duboce Park and Page Street (recently designated a “slow street” for pedestrians), and between Scott and Fillmore streets. The tour begins on Steiner Street near Germania Street and ends at Steiner and Haight streets, two blocks to the north. Our group 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.
The walk heads north on Steiner Street to Germania Street, then east on Germania to Fillmore Street, north on Fillmore to Waller Street, west on Waller to Potomac Street, south to Duboce Park and then back to Waller, then continues west on Waller to Scott Street, north on Scott to Page Street, east on Page to Steiner, and then south to its conclusion on Steiner at Waller Street, two short blocks from the beginning of the tour.
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 43. White arrows on the pavement provide directions whenever a turn is needed.
Steiner Street, between Hermann and Germania, east side
Wow - a white poplar (Populus alba) on Steiner Street - it’s the City’s biggest by far!
1. 110-A Steiner London plane tree (Platanus x acerifolia), hybrid of E USA species and European species (this commonly planted urban tree is prone to fungal diseases in SF’s cool foggy climate, as evidenced by the disfigured leaves and shoot tips on this tree)
2. 110 Steiner White poplar (Populus alba), Morocco to Eurasia (SF’s biggest specimen, by far)
3. 114 Steiner Cabbage tree or tī koūka in Māori (Cordyline australis), New Zealand
Turn right on Germania. Germania Street, Steiner to Fillmore, south side
4. 175 Germania Sweet michelia (Magnolia doltsopa), Himalayas (fragrant flowers appear in winter)
5. 173 Germania Sweetshade (Hymenosporum flavum), E Australia
6. 111 Germania New Zealand Christmas tree, pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa), New Zealand
7. 109 Germania Carob (Ceratonia siliqua), E Mediterranean Basin (seed pods can be used to make a chocolate substitute—though not recommended for true chocolate lovers)
Turn left on Fillmore. Fillmore Street, Germania to Waller, west side
8. 145 Fillmore Victorian box (Pittosporum undulatum) E Australia
Cross Waller Street; turn left. Waller Street, Fillmore to Steiner, north side
coast coral tree (Erythrina caffra) - another City Champion; biggest of this species in San Francisco by far!
9. 422 Waller Coast coral tree (Erythrina caffra), E South Africa (SF’s biggest; flowers in late winter)
10. 450 Waller Mayten (Maytenus boaria), Chile (they’re everywhere around this ‘hood)
11. 498 Waller Eureka lemon (Citrus x limon), hybrid from E Asia
Cross Waller Street to the south, turn right on Steiner Street to the west, and turn left on Potomac Street
Potomac Street, Waller to Duboce Park, east side
12. 541 Waller Japanese plum (Prunus salicina), China (tree is on Potomac)
12 ½. 541 Waller Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana), China (this species seldom does well in SF)
We ran into my friend Ken Wingard in front of his jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia). Your tree is looking great, Ken!
13. 70 Potomac Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia), Argentina, Bolivia. This tree normally does well in SF’s warmer eastern neighborhoods - this homeowner is doing a great job keeping this tree healthy!
14. 70 Potomac Red delicious apple (Malus domestica cultivar), C Asia. Red delicious apples are snubbed by apple connoisseurs, but this homeowner likes the pretty red color against his dark grey home :)
15. 68 Potomac Bronze loquat (Raphiolepis deflexa, syn. Eriobotrya deflexa), E Asia
16. 60 Potomac Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), SE USA
17. 54 Potomac Silver dollar gum (Eucalyptus polyanthemos), SE Australia (a youthful specimen showing the juvenile foliage that resembles a silver dollar)
tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) in Duboce Park
**Step into Duboce Park and note the beautiful grove of gray-leaved olives (Olea europaea) to the left (east) and the sturdy tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) to the right (west). Then backtrack on Potomac on the west side of the street.
Potomac Street, Duboce Park to Waller, west side
18. 49 Potomac Sweet michelia hybrid (Magnolia doltsopa x Magnolia figo), hybrid of Asian species
19. 63 Potomac Marina strawberry tree (Arbutus ‘Marina’), hybrid of Mediterranean species, first discovered in San Francisco
20. 67 Potomac Japanese crabapple (Malus floribunda), Japan (flowers heavily in early April)
21. 75 Potomac Purple-leaf plum (Prunus cerasifera), Eurasia. Formerly San Francisco’s most commonly planted treee, it’s become less popular of late - the trees are glorious for two weeks in February when it blooms, but by June they’re often losing leaves and they often look ratty by early August.
Turn left on Waller. Waller Street, Potomac to Pierce, south side
Dragon tree (Dracaena draco)
22. 591 Waller Washington thorn (Crataegus phaenopyrum) Eastern USA
**Note the beautifully planted and maintained succulent garden along both Waller and Pierce streets.
At Pierce, Street, cross Waller to get to the north side of the street. Waller Street, Pierce to Scott, north side
23. 648 Waller Cajeput tree (Melaleuca quinquenervia), Eastern Australia (one of the largest in San Francisco)
24. 660 Waller Primrose tree (Lagunaria patersonii), Australia & S Pacific Islands
25. 660 Waller Dragon tree (Dracaena draco), Canary Islands (it’s one of the largest in San Francisco)
26. 667 Waller Canary Island date palm (Phoenix canariensis), Canary Islands (across the street)
evergreen pear (Pyrus kawakamii)
Scott Street, Waller to Haight, west side
27. 101 Scott Evergreen pear (Pyrus kawakamii), Taiwan
28. 127 Scott Brisbane box (Lophostemon confertus), E Australia
29. 127 Scott Waggie palm (Trachycarpus fortunei ‘Wagnerianus’), China
Scott Street, Haight to Page, east side
30. 220 Scott Peppermint willow (Agonis flexuosa), SW Australia
31. 240 Scott Ficus (Ficus microcarpa ‘Nitida’), S Asia (a common street tree in this ‘hood)
two Chinese hackberries (Celtis sinensis) on Page Street
Page Street, Scott to Pierce, north side
32. 850-856 Page Chinese hackberry (Celtis sinensis), Asia (2 beautifully maintained trees; in the same plant family with cannabis!)
33. 838 Page Brazilian pepper tree (Schinus terebinthifolius), Brazil
34. 834 Page Red-leaf Japanese maple (Acer japonicum cultivar), Korea and Japan
35. 802 Page Saratoga laurel (Laurus azorica), Azores and Canary Islands (selected form introduced by Saratoga Horticultural Foundation)
Page Street, Pierce to Steiner, south side
36. 785 Page Senegal date palm (Phoenix reclinata), W Africa to E and S Africa
37. 700 block of Page Brisbane box (Lophostemon confertus), E Australia (row of several trees across the street)
NE corner of Page and Steiner streets
38. 698 Page Peruvian pepper tree (Schinus molle), Peru, Chile (across the street)
Steiner Street, Page to Haight, east side
39. 332 Steiner Weeping bottlebrush (Callistemon viminalis), E Australia
40. 305 Steiner Kapuka (Griselinia littoralis), New Zealand (tree is across the street)
sweetshade (Hymenosporum flavum)
Haight Street, east of Steiner
41. 797 Haight Sweetshade (Hymenosporum flavum), E Australia (in full bloom now; several in this block, on both sides of the street)
Steiner Street, Haight to Waller, east side
42. 214 Steiner Washington thorn (Crataegus phaenopyrum) E USA
Laussat Street, east of Steiner, both sides
43. Full block Ficus (Ficus microcarpa ‘Nitida’), S Asia
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.