During the school years that followed, interest in plants lay almost fallow. FROM RUBBLE TO RUBUS - VICTOR REITER, JR. Victor Reiter, Jr. was born at 1318 O’Farrell Street, in San Francisco, on April 26, 1903. There are plenty of places in the City with enough room for Corymbia ficifolia. Silver dollar gum (Eucalyptus polyanthemos), 26. 3446 - 22nd            River wattle (Acacia cognata), Southeast Australia, 46. 2401 Fillmore        Indian laurel fig (Ficus microcarpa), South and southeast Asia to Australia (an uncommon form of this species; note the small pinkish fruits), 16. 700 Diamond           Peruvian pepper tree (Schinus molle), Peru, Chile (the tree is on Elizabeth Street), Chinese windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei), 8. This limited natural range is the smallest of any tree in California. At Vicksburg, the walk heads south to 24th Street, and then returns to its start at 24th and Castro, with a quick jog north on Noe for a special tree. 605 Elizabeth           Washington thorn (Crataegus phaenopyrum) Eastern USA, berries of Washington thorn (Crataegus phaenopyrum), 3. 29. For earlier tours, click here for the Bayview, Bernal Heights, Castro, Cow Hollow, Dogpatch, Glen Park, Inner Sunset, Lower Haight, Mission (central Mission), Mission (Inner Mission), Mission Bay, Noe Valley, Potrero Hill, Richmond, Russian Hill, Transmission, Westwood Park and West Portal tours.]. 11 Beaver    Primrose tree (Lagunaria patersonii), Australia and South Pacific Islands, 7. 231 - 32nd   Ficus (Ficus microcarpa ‘Nitida’), S Asia. Japanese maple (Acer palmatum), Korea & Japan, 34. Topping trees is severely damaging to the tree structure. [NOTE: we just chalked a tour, of Pacific Heights today - that tour will be up on the site in a couple of days. The San Francisco Open died a quiet death after that. 30. City Trees was founded in 1989 by Frank Fredericks, who began his career as a volunteer for Friends of the Urban Forest, and received the International Society of Arboriculture's"Volunteer of the Year" award. 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 44. From there, it heads southwest on West Portal to 14th Avenue, then northwest on 14th, and southwest on Wawona Street to 15th Avenue. White arrows on the pavement provide directions whenever a turn is needed. There’s a historical marker about the library near the tree, to the right as you face it. 214 - 32nd   Loropetalum chinense, China (typically grown as shrubs, these have been beautifully pruned into small trees), 7. 180 Madrone        Silver dollar gum (Eucalyptus polyanthemos), E Australia, 43. 19. ), **Turn left and head north on Webster to Broadway, passing the Italian Consulate at 2590 Webster**, Broadway, Webster to Buchanan, north side, 21. 939 York    Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), China, 41. 3502 - 24th             Italian stone pine (Pinus pinea), Mediterranean Basin (source of pine nuts/pignoli), San Jose Avenue, 24th to Elizabeth, west side, 33. 3101 - 20th  River wattle (Acacia cognata), SE Australia, 3. Mailing Address: Muir Woods National Monument 1 Muir Woods Rd 951 Alabama         Mock-orange (Pittosporum tobira), Japan, China, & Korea (a remarkable specimen), 13. He wound up in charge of woodworking in the development laboratory at Hendy Iron Works, in Sunnyvale. Chinese flame tree (Koelreuteria bipinnata) - biggest one in San Francisco! 2323 Sacramento   Brush cherry (Syzygium australe, formerly S. paniculatum), Eastern Australia, **Continue on Sacramento to Fillmore, then turn left and head south on Fillmore (lined with Indian laurel figs and evergreen pears) to California; then turn right on California**, California Street, Fillmore to Steiner, south side, 45. These two streets, with their arching canopies of mature trees planted in the early 70s, bear a strong resemblance to the elm-lined residential streets that filled cities of the East Coast and Midwest a half-century ago. 1100-1102 Guerrero          California fan palm (Washingtonia filifera), Southern California; also Mexican fan palm (Washingtonia robusta), Mexico; (the two palms are across the street). 48. This list should be used as a guideline for choosing which street tree to plant, but should not be used without the help of a tree … 195 St. Elmo          Sweet michelia (Magnolia doltsopa), Himalayas (big, white fragrant flowers appear in winter), St. Elmo Way at Monterey, northwest corner, 27. 1 Elizabeth            New Zealand Christmas tree, pōhutukawa in Māori (Metrosideros excelsa), New Zealand (widely planted in SF, where it loves our cool, coastal climate). 3456 - 22nd             Peppermint willow (Agonis flexuosa), Southwest Australia (one of SF’s biggest and best), Fair Oaks Street, 22nd to 23rd, west side, 5. Baker Street, Vallejo to Green, east side, 34. Glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum) - the first tree ever planted by Friends of the Urban Forest in April 1981! 2560 Washington  Springfire metrosideros (Metrosideros collina ‘Springfire’), French Polynesia and Cook Islands (this is the only one we know of in San Francisco), Turn left on Fillmore. 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 28. Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia), Argentina, Bolivia (a small grove in the sunken plaza opposite Starbucks), 46. 130 Kenwood        Lemon bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus), Eastern Australia (the crushed leaves smell of lemon), 43. In 1929, McLaren had the tree lit for the holidays to cheer up City residents then enduring the Great Depression. 2700 - 14th               Monterey cypress (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa), California native - native to small areas near Carmel and Point Lobos, Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervivens ‘Glauca’), E Mediterranean (the candle-shaped conifers next to the fence), Wawona Street, 14th to 15th, southeast side, 6. 983 York    Evergreen pear (Pyrus kawakamii), Taiwan (this tree, and others in the neighborhood, are showing signs of fireblight, a disease that causes leaves to turn brown and entire branches to die), 38. 259 - 32nd Italian bay tree (Laurus nobilis), Mediterranean Basin, 12. Victor, Sr. and Jr. were convinced that the rose was the ultimate in flowering plants. Dolores Street at 22nd Street, northeast corner, 1. 2501 California     Trident maple (Acer buergerianum), East Asia (several colorful street trees on both sides of the gas station). 272 Fair Oaks        Purple-leaf plum (Prunus cerasifera ‘Krauter Vesuvius’), Eurasia (a selection of purple-leaf plum that originated in a Bakersfield nursery), 25. 554 Laidley           New Zealand tea tree (Leptospermum scoparium ‘Ruby Glow’), New Zealand, 23. Masonic Avenue, Hayes to Grove, east side, 1. Victor Reiter Jr. (1903-1986) was San Francisco‘s most famous grower, collector, and hybridizer of plants and trees for many years, and he was one of the founders of the California Horticulture Society in the 1930s. 4232 - 23rd             Evergreen pear (Pyrus kawakamii), Taiwan, 21. ***, California Street, 32nd to 31st, south side, 18. 3101 - 20th  Willow wattle (Acacia iteophylla), S Australia, 4. This private garden could hardly be duplicated today – as with any fine collection, it took years to gather and adapt. 1315 Plymouth      Angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia x candida ‘Double White’), Andes Mountains of South America, Plymouth Avenue, Wildwood to Montecito, west side, 11. 26. This walk begins next to the former Russian Consulate on outer Green Street (they were invited to leave a couple of years ago, and the building, still own by Russia, appears to be empty now). We loved this garage door on Grove Street! 41 Sussex   River wattle (Acacia cognata), Southeast Australia, Monterey cypress (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa), 31. Muir Woods enchanting world is just a short coastal drive of less than an hour from downtown San Francisco, over the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge, and through the scenic Marin Headland Hills. Occasionally you’ll find a smaller tree on the map - typically because the tree is very rare in SF and only a couple small specimens exist. What you will find is result after result of plant cultivars: Armenia ‘Victor Reiter’; Cistus ‘Victor Reiter’; Abutilon ‘Victor Reiter; Thymus ‘Victor Reiter’ (which grows in our back yard, incidentally) and so on. Steiner Street, Sacramento to Clay, west side, 6. Website about San Francisco's urban forest. The tree blooms in late winter or early spring, and the large, freestone fruit ripens around June. To see so many different flowering plants in one unscientific setting is enough to send the uninitiated along the collecting path at once; for the initiated, the paths led to Utopia. 190 Henry             Marina strawberry tree (Arbutus ‘Marina’), hybrid of Mediterranean species (3 trees here, but many can be found throughout the neighborhood; the tree was first introduced in San Francisco - the interesting San Francisco story can be found here), 17. 27 Walter              Indian laurel fig (Ficus microcarpa ‘Nitida’), South and Southeast Asia to northern Australia (a common, although problematic, street tree throughout San Francisco), trunk of an olive tree (Olea europaea) at 47 Walter, 34. 47. Each plant, each family has its colorful history at every turn in the garden. The land was good and the roses prospered. I happen to be on City’s Urban Forestry Council, which does the landmarking, and I voted “yes”, but the Council voted 3-2 vote not to landmark the tree. 23. Wow! Victor continued the fuchsia work after his father’s passing, making annual offerings of new introductions which were critically praised or criticized by an enthusiastic fuchsia public. You’ll never see a more beautiful or densely planted sidewalk cut than under this Trachycarpus! Here Victor Reiter, Sr. (a retired hotel-man) enthusiastically began growing roses in the relatively small back garden. [NOTE: we chalked a Duboce Triangle tour this morning - it will be up here in a couple of days. African sumac (Rhus lancea, now known in botany as Searsia lancea), S Africa (this row of trees has received some unfortunate pruning to lower the height), 20. 261 - 32nd Peppermint willow (Agonis flexuosa), SW Australia, 13. 120 Fair Oaks        Hollywood juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘Torulosa’ or ‘Kaizuka’), East Asia, 14. 2301 Pacific           London plane tree (Platanus x acerifolia), hybrid of Eastern USA species and European species (these 8 trees, wrapping around the corner onto Webster, have been pleached; google it to see what that’s all about. XXIX, No. Our walk begins below The Lookout, on the corner of Market, Noe and 16th streets, across from the venerable Cafe Flore. 849 Faxon              African fern pine (Afrocarpus gracilior), Eastern & Southern Africa, 46. 2397 Bryant           Century plant (Agave salmiana), Mexico (this succulent is on 22nd; it is not a tree at all, but the tall flower stalk is tree-like in form), 30. 715 Baker               Mayten (Maytenus boaria), Chile (this vigorous tree is sending up shoots in nearby tree boxes and in cracks in the sidewalk), Baker Street, Golden Gate to Turk, west side. Dense with Victorian row houses alongside Marina-style buildings and a few bland structures from the 50s and 60s, the neighborhood may be most notable for its two major tree-lined streets: Noe and Sanchez. 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