The Trees of San Francisco [Hardcover]

The Trees of San Franciscointroduces readers to the rich variety of trees that thrive in San Francisco's unique conditions. San Francisco's cool Mediterranean climate has made it home to interesting and unusual trees from all over the world - trees as colorful and exotic as the city itself.

This new guide combines engaging descriptions of sixty-five different trees with color photos that reflect the visual appeal of San Francisco. Each page covers a different tree, with several paragraphs of interesting text accompanied by one or two photos. Each entry for a tree also lists locations where landmark specimens of the tree can be found. Interspersed throughout the book are sidebar stories of general interest related to San Francisco's trees.The Trees of San Franciscoalso includes a dozen tree tours that will link landmark trees and local attractions in interesting San Francisco neighborhoods such as the Castro, Pacific Heights and the Mission - walks that will appeal to tourists as well as Bay Area natives.

The Trees
Acacia baileyana(Bailey's acacia)
This Australian native is the harbinger of spring in San Francisco. It is the earliest tree to flower, putting out brilliant yellow blossoms in January. (As a native of northern New York, I still find it jarring to associate January with spring.) The tree is popular for its feathery, blue-gray foliage, although the 'Purpurea' variety has lavender new growth. Bailey's acacia is one of the fastest growing San Francisco street trees, quickly reaching 20-30 feet in both height and width. Like most fast-growing trees, however, it is short lived, rarely surviving longer than 25 years. Known as Cootamundra wattle in Australia, this plant is native to a small area near the town of Cootamundra in New South Wales. It is a woody shrub in the wild, but it can be trained to grow as a tree.

LOCATION: 1201 Shrader St./Grattan St. in Cole Valley; also at 236 Ashbury St./l“F