Fred E. Basten An Illustrated Guide to the Legendary Trees of Santa Monica Bay, Graphics Press: Santa Monica, CA, 1980. Unnumbered
Introduction
John P. Jones donated parklands and in 1879 personally planted a Moreton Bay Fig on the grounds of his estate (Miramar?).
J.W. Scott, builder of the Arcadia Hotel, donated funds for planting eucalypts along Ocean Ave. They were the original plantings.
Kinney is credited with massive plantings of eucalyptus trees on Huntington Palisades in Pacific Palisades to see which species would survive in the Bay climate. In 1900, he began Venice.
George T. Hastings moved to Santa Monica and founded the Santa Monica Nature Club and wrote an early volume on the trees of Santa Monica.
The Trees of Santa Monica Bay
Pink Cedar (Acrocarpus fraxinifolius) Tall slender tree with a greenish trunk. Leaves in clusters at branch tips, up to 2 ft. long in multi-leaf divisions. New growth red, later green. Rich scarlet blossoms on bare branches in late winter. Native to India. 625 Pier
White Alder (Alnus rhombifolia) Slender branches that droop gracefully at the tips. Fast growing to 50-80 ft. with a broad spread. Leaves are coarsely toothed 2-4 inches wide. Grows well near streams and ponds. 418 Pier.
White Bottlebrush (Callistemon salignus) Small shade tree or shrub to 25 ft. with dense crown. Grayish bark tends to peel, revealing gray-red sub-bark beneath. Cream to pale yellow flowers. Strand, Neilson Way to Third.
Camphor Tree (Cinnamomium camphora) Heavy-trunked tree with upright spreading limbs rich with shiny yellow-green oval leaves (new spring foliage bronze, pink, red) that imparts camphor scent when crushed. Trunk is deep brown and fissured. Native to China, Japan. Grant, Sixth to Lincoln.
Snail Seed Tree (Cocaulus laurifolius) Multi-trunked (usually) small tree to 25 ft., with rounded growth that spreads to equal width. Oblong leaves, shiny, somewhat leathery, and marked by three veins. Fruit see, enclosed by stone, resembles snail shell. Native to Himalayas. Rand Corp., against north wall of main buildings.)
Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) Leaves large and more sharply veined than Eriobotrya deflexa with undersides a rust-suede in texture and appearance. Yellow to orange 1-2 inch long fruits form following fall flowering period. 2628 Fourth.
Silver Dollar Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus cineria) Roundish, silvery blue leaves in opposite pairs. Fast growing to 30-40 ft. [2421 Third]
Bushy Yate (Eucalyptus lehmannii) Extremely dense flat-topped tree to 25 ft., excessively spread. Small oval 2-4 in. long, long leaves light green. Bark brown and rough. Freeway slope adjacent to Rand Corp. parking lot.
Ficus rubiginosa australis. Similar to Rusty Leaf Ficus but leaves are slightly smaller and less rusty on undersides. Rand Corporation at main entrance.
Evergreen Ash, Shamel Ash (Fraxinus uhdei) Rapid growing, eventually to 80 ft., with wide spread. Glossy, divided leaved edged with small teeth. Briefly deciduous. Native to Mexico. 1668 Seventh.
Fernleaf Catalina Ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus asplenifolius) Leaves divided into 3-7 lobed leaflets in reddish-brown branchlets and twigs. New bark rusty red, turning greyish with age; shreds. Native to Southern California's off-shore islands. 2009 Sixth.
Prickly Paperbark (Melalenca styphelioides) Delicate medium sized tree with broad spread of sharp pointed light green leaves. Short off white brushlike flowers, flaking pale tan bark, with deepening color with age. 1205 Marine, Ocean Park.
Banana (Musa paradisia seminifera) Tree-like perennial to 20 ft. or more with long, semi-drooping frond like leaves growing in clumps. Greenish-yellow fruits are inedible. 235 Bay.
[Banana (Musa sapientum), edible banana, Hollister and Main.]
Pygmy Date Palm (Phoenix roebelenii) Dwarf palm to 6 ft. with small fine-leafed, fan-shaped fronds. Dense rounded fern, native to Indonesia. Santa Monica County Bldg. in planter near main entrance.
Cape Pittosporum (Pittosporum viridiflorum) Small tree or shrub to 25 ft. with dense, shiny foliage of dark green. Yellowish-green flowers in thick clusters at branch tips. Orangish fruits with sticky red seeds. Native to S. Africa. 413 Raymond.
Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) Medium to large deciduous tree. Fairly open in form; minimal branches, thorned with deeply fissured bark. Leaves are divided into many short leaflets. Fragrant white spring flowers hang in dense clusters. Native to eastern U.S. 579 Ashland.
Giant Yucca (Yucca elephantipes; Y. gigantea) Fast growing to great heights and not compact. Deep green clusters of narrow, dull tipped leaves to four feet, long, top distorted, out reaching trunks. Unusual "swollen" base shape. Have spring spikes of off-white flowers. Native to Mexico. Santa Monica City Hall, north lawn.
Care and Maintenance of the City Trees
There are an estimated 26,000 trees in Santa Monica.