Self-Guided Tree Walk: West Bayshore Area

Tree Selection by Neil Woolner, ISA certified arborist with Arbor Care in Burlingame. The text was written by Susan Garland.
Updated by Jana Dilley and Marty Deggeller, summer 2003
Additional information gathered from Sunset Western Garden Book.

Download this Tree Walk (PDF Version)

The West Bayshore Tree Walk begins at the Ohlone School, 950 Amarillo Avenue.

1. European White Birch (Betula pendula)
~ 939 Amarillo Avenue, left side
This is an ornamental tree with low maintenance requirements. Bark on the trunk and main limbs becomes white with black clefts. The biggest problem is with aphids excreting sticky honeydew onto the ground and tree.

2. California Pepper Tree (Schinus molle)
~ 931 Amarillo Avenue, front yard left of sidewalk
A native of Peru, this species was brought to California by Captain Cook. Its beautiful weeping canopy contains bright green, narrow leaflets and many tiny yellowish white summer flowers in drooping 4 to 6 inch clusters. Flowers become rose-colored berries in the fall and winter.

3a. Flowering Pear Tree (Pyrus kawakamii)
~ 919 Amarillo Avenue, right side behind fence
Originally from Europe, this tree is evergreen in mild climates. Pears are small, berry-like, and tasteless. This specimen shows examples of both good and bad pruning. Look for the cuts where the tree was able to heal itself.

3b. Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata)
~ 919 Amarillo Avenue, left side of front yard
In Australia and New Zealand, this tree is used for timber. Fast growing, it tolerates poor soil. Pine pitch canker disease is currently affecting many of these trees. Bacteria enter through the soft growing tips and needles turn red and die. Bark beetles are also a threat – they bore through the cambium of the tree tops and the trunk. Eventually the boring activity girdles the trunk leading to decline or death. These insects usually seek out trees stressed from drought or excessive pruning. To prevent this problem, don’t prune from February through October.

3c. Chinese Elm (Ulmus parvifolia)
~ 919 Amarillo Avenue, right of driveway
Can be evergreen or deciduous depending on temperatures. Tolerates pollution due to shedding bark that clears its “pores” (lenticles). Grows 40 to 60 feet tall and can vary in shape but usually appears spreading with long weeping branches.

4. Modesto Ash (Fraxinus velutina ‘Modesto’)
~ 905 Amarillo Avenue, street tree on Louis Road
Native to the Central Valley of California, it is widely used as a street tree. It has naturally upward sweeping branches with glossy green leaflets that turn bright yellow in the fall. Tolerates poor water conditions.

5. Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)
~ 908 Moreno Avenue, center of property
This is a very thirsty tree that is native to the south. Evergreen, but its leaves die and fall off throughout the year. Beautiful huge white flowers are powerfully fragrant. When leaves start to yellow on edges, it is a sign of nitrogen deficiency.

6. Apple (Malus domestica)
~ 910 Moreno Avenue, left side of front yard
Short lived and cultivated. Needs some spraying and pruning. Canker disease is a typical problem.

7. California Fan Palm (Washingtonia filifera)
~ 918 Moreno Avenue, right side of front yard
The California Fan Palm has a wider, fatter trunk than the Mexican Fan Palm. Grows to 60 feet tall and has long stalked leaves that stand well apart in an open crown.

8. Incense Cedar (Calocedrus decurrens)
~ 919 Moreno Avenue, right of driveway
Burns with a nice, pleasant smell. Seen a lot in Yosemite. Good tree to make a green wall or windbreak, tolerates poor soil and blazing summer heat. This conifer has a strong header stem and grows in a conical shape.

9a. Glossy Privet (Ligustrum lucidum)
~ 924 Moreno Avenue, right of driveway, rear tree
Can be used as a small tree or big shrub. Long, pointed, dark to medium green leaves. In late spring or early summer, it has many creamy-white clusters of flowers which turn into blue-black berry-like fruit.

9b. Canary Island Date Palm (Phoenix canariensis)
~ 924 Moreno Avenue, left of driveway
These are long-lived (50 to 60 years) thirsty plants. The trunk is composed of hair-like fibers. This species can survive temperatures above 35° F.

9c. Mexican Fan Palm (Washingtonia robusta)
~ 924 Moreno Avenue, left of front walk, behind fence
Grows to 70 to 80 feet tall. Freezing temperatures will kill this palm. Dead fronds catch moisture from the air and funnel it to the trunk. Crown rot disease (Thielaviopsis) occurs when the base is damaged, and infection then can travel up the trunk, causing the crown to rot and fall off without warning.

10. English Walnut (Juglans regia)
~ 927 Moreno Avenue, right of driveway
This species can reach 60 feet with an equal spread of heavy upward-angled branches. If you cut the stem, you would find a hole in the middle. It is used as rare and expensive wood for cabinets. Many people are allergic to its wind-borne pollen.

11. Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia soulangeana)
~ 929 Moreno Avenue, right of driveway in front
From Asia, this species has a spectacular flower that can be white to pink to purplish red. Flowers will bloom before the leaves expand. Used as a specimen tree.

12a. Little-leaf Linden Tree (Tilia cordata)
~ 933 Moreno Avenue, left side along fence
Known as a lime tree in England, it has nothing to do with limes. This tree is wider than it is tall. In winter, we see open seed pods on the branches, not leaves. Its leaves are dark green above and silver below. Flowers in July.

12b. Monterey Cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa)
~ 933 Moreno Avenue, right side
Native to the foggy coast of Monterey, California. It is rich with bright green foliage. Limbs can tear off, and it is always dropping tiny scale-like leaves. Cypress canker causes the new shoots to die, but leaves stay on.

13a. Maidenhair Tree (Ginkgo biloba)
~ 939 Moreno Avenue, front yard, right of driveway
From China, the ginkgo is slow growing, and not much pruning is needed. This is a grafted form (not a female tree). The female produces an orange fruit with a nut in the center, and its flesh has an awful smell. It is an ancient tree, grown back in prehistoric times. Beautiful yellow fall color.

13b. American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua)
~ 939 Moreno Avenue, in rear along fence, right side
In the Eastern U.S., the tree is used for furniture like oak is. Tolerates bad conditions, and grows fast. Limbs break in storms. People used to strip the bark and used the sap as chewing gum.

14. Silver Dollar Gum (Eucalyptus polyanthemos)
~ 967 Moreno Avenue, left of driveway
Brought to California in 1856 from Australia. Originally planted as a lumber tree, it was also grown as a windbreak. Eucalyptus is fast growing and tolerates zero water. They do better in moisture and can store a lot of water. When dry, it is a fire hazard, burning quickly like paper. Weak wood has dispersed cells unlike thick wood that has packed cells.

15. American Elm (Ulmus americana)
~ 966 Moreno Avenue, left side
Found throughout the U.S., but rare in California, this tree can grow 100 feet tall and
50 to 60 feet wide. It is fast-growing and used as an estate tree. Because of the current problem with Dutch elm disease, it is not recommended for planting. This specimen is probably 40 to 50 years old.

16. Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara)
~ 2591 Greer Road, far right on Moreno Avenue
Highly scented, and native to the Himalayas, Hindus use it as incense. Can be formed into a spreading low or high shrub by pruning new growth of side branches halfway back in late spring.

17. Coastal Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
~ Across from 2621 Greer Road
Commonly known as the tallest tree, the redwood can grow up to 340 feet. It’s a sister to the giant sequoia of the Sierras which is the biggest tree in volume. Good landscaping tree, woodsy smelling, pest free and fast growing. The fire-resistant bark protects a tough wood that is used for lumber.

18. Red Horsechestnut (Aesculus carnea)
~ 2657 Greer Road, on right property line
This big tree can cast dense shade when it grows to 40 feet tall and 30 feet wide. In April or May, it bears hundreds of plumes of soft pink to red flowers. The black chestnut seed is held in a spiked husk ball that falls in the autumn.

19. Blue Spruce (Picea pungens ‘Glauca’)
~ 1015 Amarillo Avenue, corner of Amarillo and Greer
Grown as a lumber tree in the Pacific Northwest. Has a broad pyramid shape with large, stiff, horizontal branches. Distinctive gray-blue color.

20. Olive Tree (Olea europaea)
~ 1008 Amarillo Avenue, 4 trees in front yard
Willow-like foliage is a soft gray-green. Branches become gnarled in maturity when the tree reaches a height of 25 to 30 feet. Most lush when grown in deep rich soil; thrives in areas with hot dry summers. Without processing, olives are inedible; they must be soaked in salt water.

21. Ironwood Tree (Casuarina cunninghamiana)
~ 1003 Amarillo Avenue, left side, tree in front
This Australian tree has no true leaves. Instead, it has green leaf-like twigs. Although it looks like a pine, it’s a close relative to oak. It tolerates arid conditions and is used to reforest burned and logged areas.

22. Lemon Bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus)
~ 967 Amarillo Avenue, right of driveway
Native to Australia. Best selling bottlebrush because it is most tolerant to heat, cold and poor soils. Large shrub but with staking and pruning can be trained into a round-headed 20- to 25-foot tree. Bright red 6-inch brushes attract hummingbirds.

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