12 readers tell us about their favorite trees in L.A. (2024)

“I grew up in West L.A. and attended school at Clover Avenue Elementary. Across the avenue from the school, standing between a church and its nursery school, there’s an ancient fig tree. While I didn’t attend the church, in the 1970s and ’80s, the tree offered a secondary pickup spot as I awaited my mother’s station wagon. I have quite a few memories of playing around its roots and marveling at its girth. I delight in knowing it’s still there.”
— Roy Hembree, Sylmar

“One half block south of Melrose Avenue, on Detroit Street, in front of the house my three brothers and I grew up in, there grows a Ficus religiosa. I believe there are only two or three others growing on walkways in the city. When my brothers and I were young, any one of us could hug the tree and touch our hands together. Today, it would take a group of four to six people to do the same thing. The older photo (below) was taken in the late 1960s. The second in 2015. The tree is even more massive today. It is a one of a kind.”
— Bruce Gurnick

Bruce Gurnick’s favorite tree, a Ficus religiosa (or sacred fig) from his childhood neighborhood, in the 1960s.

That same Ficus religiosa in 2015. (From Bruce Gurnick)

See Also

Planning for Trees in Los Angeles

“The oldest palm tree in L.A. is right outside the Coliseum/SoFi/California Science Center. My daughter lives nearby in an apartment while she attends college. It took a couple of CicLAvias and finally the Endeavour booster rocket trip up Figueroa to find it, but I’ve now taken pictures. The fact that it’s been moved and still thrives makes my day.”
— Angel Zobel-Rodriguez, San Fernando

Angel Zobel-Rodriguez’s favorite tree in L.A. is also the oldest palm tree in the city, located near the Coliseum, SoFi Stadium and California Science Center.

(From Angel Zobel-Rodriguez)

“This is a champion tree located at University High School Charter in the middle of Los Angeles. It is the same species as the [Árbol del Tule] in Oaxaca. It’s located yards from a high school football field. I went to high school in the ’90s and little did I know that the community organized to protect the Kuruvungna Springs [where the tree is located] and save it from demolition. I lived in Hawthorne and commuted 24 miles back and forth between my home and my high school and was proud to return as an alumna and nominate the tree for further protections of the sacred springs. It’s a gorgeous tree and is probably over 200 years old.”
— Michelle Matthews, Monrovia

Michelle Matthews told us about this tree near University High School Charter; it was given champion tree status and saved from demolition by the community around it.

(From Michelle Matthews)

“At 6601 West 82nd Street, there is the biggest naked coral tree I have ever seen. It’s stunning. Instead of spreading wide, which many do, this tree is both wide and about 50 feet high. In the summer, it’s full of dense green leaves creating beautiful shade, and as the name implies, it is naked in the winter — except for the gorgeous coral colored blooms. This tree is a gem and I can tell the owners of the home have taken good care of it, keeping it pruned so it has grown so beautifully. When I walk in the neighborhood I always make a point to go by this lovely tree.”
— Dana M.

Dana M. shared with us her favorite tree, an Erythrina coralloides, or naked coral tree, covered in flowers.

(From Dana M.)

“It’s a love/hate relationship with a pair of [giant eucalyptus] in the parkway of Lorenzo Place. The one closer to the corner with Glenbarr is the fuller head, but both are 70- to 80-foot specimens. For anyone who lives alongside a giant eucalyptus, the hatred is owed to the constant falling pods, twigs, leaves and bark. It’s when the winds sweep across Rancho Park Golf Course that we pay for that green pastoral view. Our garden becomes a scene of neglect from the debris that is strewn about, clinging to shrubs and our trees. Then there is the tension that goes with their reputation for falling over (‘widow makers’) — if either one of these giants falls to the east, our home would be crushed. But we love them. Go figure!”
— Fran Andersen, Cheviot Hills

“This is a very old California bay laurel, situated at the edge of L.A. Tennis at Griffith Park, on Riverside Drive next to a parking lot. I was alerted to it by a friend and tree-loving colleague, and since then, I try to drive by as often as possible on my way home from work. I love it because most people probably don’t notice it or don’t know what it is — a very mature and protected native species. And I like that I probably don’t have to have my heart broken by careless construction or removal, like what happens all over the city.”
— Shelley Billik, Los Angeles

A friend and tree-loving colleague alerted Shelley Billik to this massive old California bay laurel (Umbellularia californica) in Griffith Park.

(From Shelley Billik)