Self-Guided Tree Walk: Crescent Park

Tree Selection by Neil Woolner, an arborist with Arbor Care in San Carlos. Text by Lynn Stewart, a Palo Alto writer and editor.
Updated by Jana Dilley and Marty Deggeller, Summer 2003
Additional information gathered from Sunset Western Garden Book.

Download this Tree Walk (PDF Version)

The Crescent Park Tree Walk begins at the southeast corner of University Avenue and Lincoln Avenue.

1a. Atlas Cedar (Cedrus atlantica)
~ 1280 Lincoln Avenue, corner of Lincoln and University Avenue
This large, majestic tree, used for shipbuilding in ancient Greece, needs a large area if it is to develop properly. Leaf clusters only on the tops of the branches distinguish this cedar from the deodar (number 7). Native to the Mediterranean.

1b. Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)
~ 1280 Lincoln Avenue, street tree on right
Many magnolias were planted in Palo Alto at the turn of the century by a local women’s group, which traveled through the town with a horse and cart to water them. Most of them are now dying, partly because they are reaching the natural end of their lifespans, and partly because they prefer much more water than they receive here.

2a. Sycamore or London Plane Tree (Platanus acerifolia)
~ 1250 Lincoln Avenue, street tree on left
This tree is very tolerant of urban pollution, shedding toxins in its peeling bark. In this area, sycamores are subject to defoliation by anthracnose and mildew. They can be sprayed to avoid these problems, or the resistant Yarwood variety (number 14) can be planted instead. Native to the Eastern U.S.

2b. Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)
~ 1250 Lincoln Avenue, street tree on right
This tree, which can reach 120 feet in height, has inconspicuous tulip-like flowers and bright gold fall color. Its wide-spreading roots need summer water. It is very prone to aphid infestation; the resulting sticky, sugary coating on and around the tree in turn provides food for a sooty mold fungus. Native to the Eastern U.S.

3a. Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
~ 1211 Hamilton Avenue, street tree on Lincoln Avenue
Coast redwoods often do well in this microclimate because the water table is high; they grow particularly well next to watered lawns. However, this tree is dropping its old leaves, a classic symptom of water stress. These redwoods can reach 360 feet in height, but in home gardens 90 feet is a likelier maximum. Native to coastal California.

3b. European Beech (Fagus sylvatica)
~ 1211 Hamilton Avenue, street tree on Lincoln Avenue
This tree can live up to 250 years and reach 200 feet in height. It is a hardwood used in shipbuilding. Native to Europe (one of 33 trees native to England); imported to America during the colonial era. This is the most widely grown beech.

4. Ginkgo or Maidenhair Tree (Ginkgo biloba)
~ 1189 Hamilton Avenue, 3 street trees
This prehistoric species—the oldest cultivated tree on earth—provides intense fall color. It comes in two genders, which can’t be distinguished until the sapling is 5 to 6 years old. The fruit of the adult female emits a terrible stench in the fall. Therefore, it is best to buy grafted male trees. Native to Eastern China.

5. Fern Pine (Afrocarpus elongatus)
~ 1181 Hamilton Avenue, behind fence on right
Fast-growing evergreen shade tree. A good pest-free tree for street, lawn, patio or garden areas. Formerly known as Podocarpus gracilior.

6. Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
~ 1129 Hamilton Avenue, street tree left of driveway
This deciduous tree grows quickly with regular watering. It can live up to 180 years and reach up to 120 feet. Like other oaks, it can be identified by the cluster of shoots at the tip of each twig. Its leaves turn scarlet in cool fall weather. Unlike native California oaks, it tolerates watering of grass or plants beneath it. Native to the Eastern U.S.

7. Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara)
~ 1125 Hamilton Avenue, front yard
The highly scented wood of this tree can be used for incense. It can reach 90 feet in height. Leaf clusters on all sides of the branches distinguish it from the Atlas cedar (number 1a). Native to the Himalayas.

8a. European Olive (Olea europaea)
~ 1121 Hamilton Avenue, front yard left of driveway
The olive has been a staple of Mediterranean culture since time immemorial. It likes dry soils. This is the fruiting form of the tree, but the fruit is edible only after long soaking in brine. Spraying can prevent fruiting and the consequent staining of pavement.

8b. Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia)
~ 1121 Hamilton Avenue, front yard left of house
This drought-tolerant evergreen can live for up to 200 years and reach up to 70 feet. Nothing kills this tree except root damage, to which it is very susceptible. Avoid running heavy equipment over the root zone and watering around the tree. Sprinkler water that hits the trunk is especially damaging.

9. Silk Oak (Grevillea robusta)
~ 1115 Hamilton Avenue, front yard, right of house
Despite its name, this tree is not really an oak. It is fast-growing and weak-wooded, and must be kept pruned to avert the tearing of limbs. It has large clusters of orange flowers in the early spring, and lives for 50 to 60 years. Native to Australia.

10. Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)
~ 1111 Hamilton Avenue, street tree on Hamilton
This hardwood can reach 60 feet high. Like all maples, it has pairs of leaves alternating at 90 degree angles on the braches. This is the tree used to make maple syrup. Native to Eastern North America.

11a. Buckeye or Red Horsechestnut (Aesculus carnea)
~ 1031 Hamilton Avenue, street tree on Chaucer Street, far left
This species is prone to rust, which causes defoliation. In bloom, this tree has 8-inch-long plumes of soft pink to red flowers. It has large, glossy brown nuts in the fall.

11b. Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
~ 1031 Hamilton Avenue, street tree on Chaucer Street, right of driveway
The redbud is a great small urban tree. It gets flowers and a bit of fall color, and it requires little pruning.

12. European White Birch (Betula pendula)
~ 625 Hale Street, row of street trees
This is a pioneer tree, one of the first to re-colonize disturbed areas. It is fast-growing and hence weak-wooded, so it occasionally tears limbs. It lives 30 years at most. It does not store water internally, so it is very sensitive to changes in water level and needs to be watered in the summer; when stressed by lack of water it dies from the top.

13. Canary Island Palm (Phoenix canariensis)
~ 975 Hamilton Avenue, front yard
Like other palms, this is not really a tree at all, but a giant grass. It grows from the tip and has no woody tissue. When it dies, it can’t be composted because of it’s slow decomposition rate, and has to be dumped with construction waste.

14. London Plane (Platanus acerifolia ‘Yarwood’)
~ 664 Hale Street, numerous trees in yard
This giant-leaved sycamore cultivar is resistant to anthracnose and mildew. It is tolerant of many soil types and shares the positive traits of the London plane. (See number 2a.)

15. California Walnut (Juglans californica hindsii)
~ 1002 Forest Avenue, street tree on Boyce Avenue, right side
This tree is suffering from root damage. Tree roots should never be pruned if at all avoidable.

16. California Walnut (Juglans californica hindsii)
~ 950 Boyce Avenue, front yard along fence
This tree is much healthier than the previous tree, and provides a good example of the difference between a healthy tree and a struggling tree. Produces round nuts with rich flavor.

17. Little-leaf Linden (Tilia cordata)
~ 1022 Forest Avenue, street tree left of driveway
The leaves of this tree are dark green above and silver below. It flowers in July and bears open seed pods in winter. It is called a lime tree in England, though it is unrelated to the true lime. Fragrant in bloom.

18a. White Alder (Alnus rhombifolia)
~ 1081 Forest Avenue, trees in yard flanking sidewalk
This is a pioneer tree; one of the first to recolonize disturbed areas. It is also a swamp tree, so it tolerates having its roots watered. Many alders in this area are now being killed by flathead borers, which make small pellet holes in the trunk, but these trees are not yet affected.

18b. Modesto Ash (Fraxinus velutina ‘Modesto’)
~ 1081 Forest Avenue, in yard right of house
The modesto ash is widely planted in this area as a street tree. It tolerates poor soils and pollution and has great fall color, but it is subject to anthracnose defoliation in wet spring weather. It is a thirsty tree, native to Central Valley river-banks.

19. California Pepper Tree (Schinus molle)
~ 1103 Forest Avenue, left of driveway
Though this fast-growing, drought-tolerant tree is a member of the cashew family, its red berries are not edible. Native to Peru; brought up the coast by Captain Cook.

This publication was funded by the California ReLeaf 2003 Capacity-Building Grant Program and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.