The Trees of Golden Gate Park and San Francisco

A little more than a hundred years ago the San Francisco landscape was mostly sand dunes meadows marshes and rocky outcroppings. Only a scattering of native trees mostly windblown and stunted grew naturally. Early city and park planners bent on creating a magnificent city transformed this sparse fog-swept landscape by planting trees from around the worldtrees selected especially for their beauty and adaptability to the citys climate. The Trees of Golden Gate Park is based on the writings of botanist Elizabeth McClintock whose column on the trees of Golden Gate Park was a feature of Pacific Horticulture magazine for twenty-five years; it presents the reader with the stories of 170 different trees found in the park and throughout the city. Detailed maps and elegant line drawings of leaves flowers and fruit make it a useful field guide; extensive descriptions of the biology lineage and horticultural history of the trees make it essential armchair reading for everyone who wishes to deepen their knowledge of San Francisco and the unique urban treasure known as Golden Gate Park.