San Francisco, California recommended street tree species list, updated August 2024
San Francisco Public Works publishes a Recommended Street Tree Species List in five sections, approved by the Urban Forestry Council on August 27, 2024. This page copies every species row with its printed sidewalk width and marks.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It is also not planting advice and it does not say which tree suits a site. The San Francisco Recommended Street Tree Species List is an 11-page PDF headed “Updated August 2024”. Its introduction says the Recommended Street Tree List was approved by the Urban Forestry Council on August 27, 2024. The Public Works list page says the council reviews and updates the list, working with public and non-profit urban forestry stakeholders that include the Public Works Urban Forestry Division and Friends of the Urban Forest.
What the list says it is
The PDF says the list is meant for the public realm of streets, plazas and related spaces under Public Works, and that it makes room for other areas such as Street Parks. It says no tree is perfect for every site, that the list is a guideline and should not be used without an arborist or other tree professional, and that all street tree site and species selections must be approved by Public Works before planting. It calls the list part of the city’s climate action strategy and gives biodiversity and habitat as goals. It says the city strongly recommends planting local native species grown from local San Francisco stock where a resident has the space and wants to plant for wildlife.
The list has five sections. Section 1 is local native trees and arborescent shrubs for places with more room than a sidewalk planting well, such as stairways, Street Parks and plazas. Sections 2 and 3 are for sidewalk tree wells: Section 2 for trees that do well in most sidewalk locations, Section 3 for trees that do well with special considerations. Section 4 is trees with limited use cases or still being considered as street trees. Section 5 is palms, which the PDF says give fewer community benefits such as shade and carbon sequestration but may suit sites with significant constraints.
Each row prints a minimum sidewalk width, and yes or no marks for utility friendly, drought tolerant and allergy friendly. The utility friendly mark has a footnote saying the tree will not interfere with typical overhead high-voltage wires. The PDF prints the width as a number only, 7.5, 10, 12 or 15, and its header gives no unit. A notes column holds short remarks and, for some native species, counts of the butterflies and moths each tree is confirmed or likely to support. Notes are not copied here. Evergreen species are in bold in the PDF, which this page does not show.
Section 1, local native trees and arborescent shrubs (10 rows)
| Species and common name as printed | Min. sidewalk width, utility friendly, drought tolerant, allergy friendly |
|---|---|
| Aesculus californica, California buckeye | 15; Yes; Yes; No |
| Ceanothus thyrsiflorus, California lilac | 7.5; Yes; Yes; No |
| Garrya elliptica, silk tassel | 7.5; Yes; Yes; No |
| Heteromeles arbutifolia, toyon | 10; Yes; Yes; Yes |
| Myrica (Morella) californica, California wax myrtle | 10; No; Yes; No |
| Prunus ilicifolia, holly-leafed cherry | 12; No; Yes; No |
| Quercus agrifolia, coast live oak | 15; No; Yes; No |
| Quercus chrysolepis, canyon live oak | 15; No; Yes; Yes |
| Rhamnus (Frangula) californica, California coffeeberry | 10; Yes; Yes; Yes |
| Sambucus cerulea, blue elderberry | 12; Yes; Yes; No |
Section 2, trees that do well in most sidewalk locations (11 rows)
| Species and common name as printed | Min. sidewalk width, utility friendly, drought tolerant, allergy friendly |
|---|---|
| Callistemon citrinus, lemon bottlebrush | 10; Yes; Yes; No |
| Crataegus phaenopyrum, Washington hawthorn | 7.5; Yes; No; Yes |
| Lagunaria patersonii, primrose tree | 10; No; No; No |
| Lophostemon confertus, Brisbane box | 12; No; Yes; Yes |
| Magnolia grandiflora ‘Little Gem’, ‘Little Gem’ magnolia | 7.5; Yes; No; No |
| Magnolia grandiflora ‘Sam Sommers,’ ‘Majestic Beauty,’ ‘D.D. Blanchard’, southern magnolia | 12; No; No; No |
| Melaleuca quinquenervia, broad-leaf paperbark | 10; No; Yes; No |
| Platanus x acerifolia ‘Columbia’, London plane; sycamore | 10; No; No; No |
| Podocarpus gracilior/Afrocarpus falcatus, fern pine | 12; No; Yes; Yes |
| Quercus suber, cork oak | 12; No; No; No |
| Tristaniopsis laurina, tristania; water gum | 12; Yes; No; Yes |
Section 3, trees that do well with special considerations (22 rows)
| Species and common name as printed | Min. sidewalk width, utility friendly, drought tolerant, allergy friendly |
|---|---|
| Arbutus x ‘Marina’, ’Marina’ madrone | 10; Yes; Yes; Yes |
| Cassia leptophylla, gold medallion tree | 10; Yes; No; Yes |
| Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman’, California lilac tree | 7.5; Yes; Yes; No |
| Corymbia ficifolia, red-flowering gum | 12; No; Yes; Yes |
| Corymbia maculata/Eucalyptus m., spotted gum | 12; No; Yes; Yes |
| Crataegus x lavallei, Lavalle hawthorn | 7.5; Yes; No; Yes |
| Eriobotrya deflexa, bronze loquat | 10; Yes; No; Yes |
| Ginkgo biloba ‘Princeton Sentry,’ ‘Saratoga’, ginkgo; maidenhair | 12; No; No; No |
| Hymenosporum flavum, sweetshade | 10; No; No; Yes |
| Jacaranda mimosifolia, jacaranda | 10; No; No; Yes |
| Koelreuteria bipinnata, Chinese flame tree | 10; Yes; No; Yes |
| Laurus nobilis ‘Saratoga’, ‘Saratoga’ bay laurel | 10; Yes; Yes; Yes |
| Lyonothamnus floribundus asplenifolius, Catalina ironwood | 10; No; Yes; Yes |
| Magnolia champaca/M. x alba, champak | 10; Yes; No; Yes |
| Magnolia doltsopa, sweet michelia | 10; No; No; Yes |
| Melaleuca linariifolia, flax-leaf paperbark | 10; Yes; Yes; No |
| Metrosideros excelsa, New Zealand Christmas tree | 15; No; Yes; Yes |
| Olea europaea, fruitless olive | 12; Yes; Yes; No |
| Pistacia chinensis ‘Keith Davey’ or standard, Chinese pistache | 10; Yes; Yes; Yes |
| Pyrus kawakamii, evergreen pear | 10; No; No; No |
| Quillaja saponaria, Chilean soapbark | 10; No; Yes; Yes |
| Ulmus parvifolia ‘Drake,’, Chinese elm | 10; No; No; No |
Section 4, trees with limited use cases and possible site restrictions (47 rows)
| Species and common name as printed | Min. sidewalk width, utility friendly, drought tolerant, allergy friendly |
|---|---|
| Acer buergerianum, trident maple | 10; Yes; Yes; No |
| Acer circinatum, vine maple | 10; Yes; No; No |
| Aesculus hippocastanum, horse chestnut | 15; No; No; No |
| Aesculus x carnea, red horse chestnut | 10; No; No; No |
| Agonis flexuosa ‘Burgundy’, ‘Burgundy’ peppermint willow | 10; Yes; Yes; Yes |
| Angophora costata, Sydney red gum | 12; No; Yes; Yes |
| Banksia integrifolia, coast banksia | 12; No; Yes; Yes |
| Brachychiton acerifolius, flame tree | 15; No; Yes; Yes |
| Brachychiton populneus, bottle tree | 12; No; Yes; Yes |
| Ceanothus ‘Cliff Schmidt’; Ceanothus arboreus, California lilac tree | 7.5; Yes; Yes; No |
| Cedrela fissilis, Brazilian cedarwood | 12; No; No; No |
| Ceiba speciosa, silk floss tree | 15; No; Yes; N/A |
| Celtis sinensis, Chinese hackberry | 12; No; No; No |
| Corylus colurna, Turkish hazel | 15; No; No; No |
| Corymbia citriodora, Lemon-scented gum | 15; No; Yes; Yes |
| Elaeocarpus decipiens, Japanese blueberry | 10; No; Yes; N/A |
| Eucalyptus conferruminata/E. lehmanni, bushy yate | 10; Yes; Yes; Yes |
| Eucalyptus nicholii, willow-leaf peppermint | 12; No; No; Yes |
| Eucalyptus polyanthemos, silver dollar gum | 15; No; Yes; Yes |
| Geijera parviflora, Australian willow | 10; No; No; Yes |
| Koelreuteria elegans ssp. formosana, Chinese flame tree | 10; Yes; No; Yes |
| Leucadendron argenteum, Silver leaf tree | 10; No; Yes; N/A |
| Liriodendron tulipifera, tulip tree | 12; No; No; Yes |
| Melaleuca ericifolia, swamp paperbark | 10; Yes; Yes; No |
| Melaleuca squamophloia, scaly paperbark | 7.5; Yes; Yes; No |
| Melaleuca styphelioides, prickly-leaf paperbark | 10; Yes; No; No |
| Metrosideros collina ‘Springfire’, 'ohi'a lehua | 10; Yes; Yes; Yes |
| Pittosporum rhombifolium/Auranticarpa rhombifolia, Queensland pittosporum | 10; Yes; Yes; N/A |
| Pittosporum undulatum, Victorian box | 10; No; No; N/A |
| Platanus racemosa ‘Roberts’, California sycamore ‘Roberts’ | 12; No; No; No |
| Prunus lyonii, Catalina cherry | 7.5; Yes; Yes; Yes |
| Prunus subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’, Higan cherry | 10; Yes; No; Yes |
| Quercus coccinea, scarlet oak | 12; No; No; No |
| Quercus engelmannii, Engelmann oak | 12; No; Yes; No |
| Quercus frainetto ‘Forest Green’, Italian oak | 12; No; No; No |
| Quercus hypoleucoides, Silverleaf oak | 15; No; Yes; No |
| Quercus ilex, holly oak | 12; No; No; No |
| Quercus phellos, willow oak | 15; No; No; No |
| Quercus rugosa, Netleaf oak | 15; No; Yes; No |
| Quercus tomentella, island oak | 12; No; Yes; No |
| Quercus virginiana, southern live oak | 12; No; No; No |
| Quercus wislizeni, Interior live oak | 15; No; No; No |
| Tilia tomentosa, silver linden | 12; No; No; No |
| Ulmus japonica x wilsoniana ‘Accolade’, accolade elm | 15; No; No; No |
| Ulmus parvifolia x carpinifolia ‘Frontier’, frontier elm | 12; No; No; No |
| Ulmus propinqua ‘Emerald Sunshine’, emerald sunshine elm | 10; No; No; No |
| Ulmus wilsoniana ‘Prospector’, prospector elm | 12; No; No; No |
Section 5, palms (12 rows)
| Species and common name as printed | Min. sidewalk width, utility friendly, drought tolerant, allergy friendly |
|---|---|
| Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, king palm | 10; No; No; Yes |
| Brahea clara, Mexican blue palm | 10; No; No; Yes |
| Brahea edulis, Guadalupe palm | 12; Yes; Yes; Yes |
| Butia odorata, southern jelly palm | 7.5; Yes; No; Yes |
| Cordyline australis, Cabbage tree | 15; Yes; Yes; Yes |
| Howea forsteriana, Kentia palm | 10; Yes; No; Yes |
| Parajubaea sunkha, Sunkha palm | 10; No; Yes; N/A |
| Parajubaea torallyi, Bolivian mountain coconut palm | 15; No; No; N/A |
| Phoenix dactylifera ‘Medjool’ or ‘Zahidi’, date palm | 12; No; Yes; No |
| Syagrus romanzoffiana, queen palm | 10; No; No; Yes |
| Trachycarpus fortunei, standard & ‘Wagnerianus’, Chinese windmill palm | 10; No; Yes; No |
| Washingtonia robusta, Mexican fan palm | 12; No; Yes; No |
The planting permit
The Plant a Street Tree page says there is no fee for a Tree Planting Permit and that the permit is needed so street trees do not affect infrastructure and are planted so they thrive. It says the application form must give the number and name of the species. It says that where construction triggers the tree planting requirement in Section 806 of the Public Works Code, the application must include site plans that show tree locations and the locations of utilities, street lights and other street furniture.
Limits
- The tables above were read from the PDF by a script and checked against its text, so a stray mark is possible. The PDF is the record.
- Notes and the evergreen marking are left out.
- Several species carry a California Invasive Plant Council status in their notes, which this page does not copy.
This list sits beside the others on the city lists comparison page. For tree lists that sit beside power lines, see the power lines page.