In the three blocks between my home and the nearest coffee shop, there are over 20 species of trees from six continents. There’s the adorably short fig tree in my neighbor’s yard, a silver tree that glistens under the sun, and a cork oak with a squishy trunk. There’s also a grapefruit tree, a row of Marina strawberry trees, a Japanese blueberry tree, and an Indian hawthorn. All live and thrive on a single street in San Francisco.
“San Franciscans enjoy unusual stuff,” says Mike Sullivan, author of The Trees of San Francisco and one of three organizers of the Covid-19 tree tours that first sparked my love for my street’s trees. “People choose to be unusual here. We love diversity in human beings and diversity in our trees.”
Unlike most major cities, San Francisco allows residents to plant their own street trees, resulting in an urban forest as diverse as the people who live here. Though the city’s Mediterranean climate can be hard on trees, nearly 125,000 of them live here with more than 500 species from all over the world.
Since stumbling upon a self-guided Covid-19 tree tour organized by Sullivan and fellow tree nerds Jason Dewees and Richard Turner, getting to know my street trees has become a favorite pandemic activity. At first, I followed chalk markings left by the trio on sidewalks, detailing the common and Latin names of those they found noteworthy. Then I ventured out on my own, using Sullivan’s book and the app LeafSnap to identify trees in my neighborhood.
I felt as if I had acquired a new pair of eyes. Street corners and front yards I’ve walked past hundreds of times suddenly had new meaning. Instead of feeling trapped in my neighborhood because of the pandemic, I saw how expansive it was. Not only did I get the best workout in months from the hills of San Francisco, getting to know my street trees has given me a sense of purpose. Instead of wandering around my neighborhood and letting my worries consume me, I learned to stop and observe. Tall and unwavering, the trees are a reminder to pause and appreciate what’s right in front of me.
In addition to their beauty, urban trees are also highly functional. They provide habitats for birds, bees, and butterflies, reduce the heat-island effect in the city, help filter stormwater, and improve air quality by storing carbon dioxide. In other words, we couldn’t live without them.
If you think of trees as nothing more than green blurs on the side of the road, here are a few common ones in San Francisco to learn so you can get started on a new-found appreciation:
London plane tree
Frequently seen in San Francisco, London plane trees can also be found at the Civic Center, welcoming visitors to City Hall.
New Zealand Christmas tree
Native to New Zealand, these trees with crimson flowers thrive in San Francisco.
Water gum/small-leaf tristania
These hardy and resilient trees are native to eastern Australia.
Purple-leaf plum
Once the most commonly planted trees in San Francisco, the purple-leaf plum has an early bloom and early leaf drop.
Urban tree watching, in addition to the personal and societal benefits it provides, feels surprisingly intimate. I now know that a neighbor is hoping to harvest figs, that another has a garden full of native Californian plants, and yet another has possibly the only bloodwood tree outside of the San Francisco Botanical Garden. Getting to know the trees feels very much like getting to know my neighbors themselves. The plants in their yards offer a glimpse of their likes, dislikes, and the amount of care they dedicate to living beings. In a time when we have to stay apart to keep each other safe, getting to know our neighborhood trees is the perfect reminder that we are all part of something much bigger.
