Self-Guided Tree Walk: Southgate

Tree Selection by Kevin Raftery, ISA certified arborist. Additional information gathered by Canopy volunteer Susan Rosenberg.
Updated by Jana Dilley and Marty Deggeller, summer 2003
Additional information gathered from The Folklore of Trees and Shrubs; Reds Oaks & Black Birches; and Sunset Western Garden Book.

Download this Tree Walk (PDF Version)

The Southgate Tree Walk begins at the Palo Alto High School parking lot at Churchill Avenue and Castilleja Avenue.

1. Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum)
~ 1519 Mariposa Avenue, back yard
Among the oldest trees in the United States, some are estimated to be three to four thousand years old. These do not grow as tall as the redwood, but they grow greater in trunk diameter. This tree is one of the most healthy and well-shaped in Palo Alto.

2. Camphor (Cinnamomum camphora)
~ 1520 Mariposa Avenue, middle of deck
In its native countries, China and Japan, the bark and leaves are distilled to obtain camphor oil and gum, which is used in medicines and in industry. Wood from this tree supplies the active ingredient in moth balls and was once used for making trunks.

3. Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)
~ 1540 Mariposa Avenue, street tree
The tree that lines many of Palo Alto’s older streets. They can take some drought but look their best only when supplied with ample water.

4a. Japanese Flowering Crab Apple (Malus floribunda)
~ 1547 Mariposa Avenue, left side of yard
Deep pink to red buds that grow into fragrant flowers and gradually fade to white. Introduced to our country in 1862; other crab apples may surpass it in color, size of flower, or fruit, but none are more dependably beautiful year in and year out.

4b. Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo)
~ 1547 Mariposa Avenue, right of house
Native to Southern Europe and Ireland. This tree does well in a variety of climates and soils. The trunk and branches tend to become twisted and gnarled with age.

5. Saucer Magnolia or Tulip Tree (Magnolia soulangeana)
~ 1563 Mariposa Avenue, left of driveway
Often used as a lawn ornament or anchor plant in a big corner planting. These magnolias do not have autumn color and have rather coarse leaf texture. According to some reports, flowers on a single tree may vary in color from year to year.

6. Chinese Pistache (Pistacia chinensis)
~ 1576 Mariposa Avenue, front yard
Fall color that will knock your socks off. A stunning tree that is slow-growing eventually reaching a height of 40 to 50 feet. Requires little pruning.

7. Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
~ 1585 Mariposa Avenue, back yard
Readily distinguished from all other evergreens by its unique pendulous cones, its long pointed terminal buds with many scales, and its soft needles.

8. Tobira (Pittosporum tobira)
~ 1613 Mariposa Avenue, front yard, right of sidewalk
Typically used as a hedge, this particular plant has been pruned as a small tree. Fragrant flowers.

9. Valley Oak (Quercus lobata)
~ 450 Sequoia Avenue, front yard
Native deciduous oak. “When one considers how oaks reproduce,” writes naturalist David Rains Wallace, “simply by dropping on the ground a large seed that half the animals in the neighborhood would like to eat, it seems a bit miraculous that trees of the genus Quercus have survived as long as they have.”

10. Atlantic Cedar (Cedrus atlantica)
~ 1652 Castilleja Avenue, left of driveway
Native to the mountains of Morocco. Also known as the atlas blue cedar because of its color.

11. Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia)
~ 1621 Castilleja Avenue, left of driveway
Native evergreen oak. Excellent tree or hedge in a dry landscape. Planted from an acorn it can grow as high as 25 feet in 10 years and 50 feet in 25 years.

12. Arbutus ‘Marina’
~ 450 Miramonte Avenue, front courtyard
This is a hybrid of uncertain parentage. It resembles Arbutus unedo (See number 4b) but has larger leaves and rosy pink fall flowers.

13. European White Birch (Betula pendula)
~ 1601 Castilleja Avenue, front yard on corner— numerous trees
These trees have a delicate, lacy appearance with upright main branches and weeping side branches. They need a lot of regular water during the hot summer months. They are also very prone to borer attack.

14. Willow Pittosporum (Pittosporum phillyreoides)
~ 1565 Castilleja Avenue, left of house by driveway
Weeping tree growing 15 to 25 feet tall. Yellow flowers are fragrant. Tolerates heat, drought, aridity, and cold to 20 degrees F.

15. California Pepper Tree (Schinus molle)
~ 1503 Escobita Avenue, street tree left of driveway
Native to Western Peru, where it can grow up to elevations of 10,000 feet in the warmer climate zones of the Andes. Best grown in dry conditions to avoid root rot problems. Brought to California in the 1830's.

16. Queen Palm (Syagrus romanzoffianum)
~ 333 Miramonte Avenue, right of front walkway along Miramonte Avenue
Formerly known as Arecastrum romanzoffianum. Native to South America, this palm has a smooth, straight trunk and is frost sensitive. It may produce decorative orange dates.

17. Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)
~ 350 Sequoia Avenue, 2 street trees + multitrunked version to left of driveway
Native to China. A strikingly beautiful specimen tree with profuse summer bloom, fall color, and extremely attractive winter bark. Crape myrtles can take either a single trunked or multi-trunked form, as demonstrated here. Grows in full sun. Plant only varieties resistant to powdery mildew.

18. Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei)
~ 1625 Madrono Avenue, street tree left of driveway
Trunk is dark, usually thicker at top than at bottom, covered with dense, hairy-looking fiber. Grows 20 to 30 feet. One of the most cold tolerant palms. Comes from Northern Burma and Central and Eastern China. Tolerates heat and requires average drainage.

19. Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum)
~ 300 Miramonte Avenue, either side of front porch
One of the best choices for a small to medium specimen tree. Select tree to plant in the fall for best color.

20. Silk Tree (Albizia julibrissin)
~ 1512-1514 Madrono Avenue, street tree left of front sidewalk
Also known as the mimosa tree but unlike the true mimosa, this tree does not fold up its leaves when touched. The leaves do curl on cool evenings. Showy pink flowers cover the tree in late spring to mid-summer. Native to Iran, China and Japan.

21. Blackwood Acacia (Acacia melanoxylon)
~ 1502 Madrono Avenue, street tree left of sidewalk
Grows to 25 to 50 feet tall. Native to cool, moist areas of Tasmania and Australia. Tolerates drought, becomes weedy as it generates root sprouts and abundant seedlings.

22. Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
~ 1509 Portola Avenue, front yard
Measured by the Department of Public Works in 1995 at 114 feet. This tree was more than likely planted when the house was built in 1924.

23. Canary Island Date Palm (Phoenix canariensis)
~ 1523 Portola Avenue, 2 trees, left of house and right of driveway
These are the same tree that lines Palm Drive on the Stanford campus. This palm is edible but is mostly pit. Will tolerate cold temperatures.

24. Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea)
~ 1610 Portola Avenue, right of driveway
A lovely specimen, this deciduous oak grows rapidly; it can reach 60 to 80 feet and has deep roots. Native to the Eastern U.S.

25. Cork Oak (Quercus suber)
~ 1630 Portola Avenue, street tree
Cork pulled from a bottle of wine was once part of a cork oak tree. The outer bark is first stripped off the tree when it is about fifteen years old and then at seven to twelve-year intervals thereafter for at least one hundred years or more. The inner living cambium tissue is not injured in this process.

26. Australian Tea Tree (Leptospermum laevigatum)
~ 202 Sequoia Avenue, right of driveway
When Captain Cook traveled to New Zealand and Australia he had the leaves of this tree brewed into a tea to prevent scurvy among his crew. This tree makes an excellent subject as a small specimen tree because of its twisted trunks and unique form.

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