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Sutro Stewards
- May 18
Leaves of Three, Let it Be!
By: Christian Chingcuangco Sources [1] Pacific Poison Oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum | Native Plants PNW [2] Poison Oak: Identification...
Xienyam Chiu
- Mar 17, 2021
The Pink Flowering Currant
In this installment of Nature in your Neighborhood, we look closer at a small pink flower and its role within the ecosystem with a small...
Janis Gomes
- Apr 21, 2020
Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea): A Flower Kisser’s Favorite
Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea) is a favorite of hummingbirds or “flower kissers” as the Portuguese refer to them. This California...
Paul and Edith Bourbin
- Apr 13, 2020
A Neighborhood Native
We are Edith and Paul Bourbin and we have been volunteering with Sutro Stewards for a number of years. You may have seen us in the...
Tessa Arens
- Feb 5, 2020
Bay Area Native Ferns
When I was deciding on what my final project would be as a Sutro Stewards intern, the plant that kept going through my mind was a fern....
Janis Gomes
- Jun 3, 2019
Wild Roses: A Gift of Nature
Growing up in the fifties through the seventies, my experience with roses was of the cultivated variety. Famously large delicate blooms...
Lauren Jones
- Jan 8, 2018
Plant Profile: Franciscan Wallflower
Franciscan wallflower or San Francisco wallflower (Erysimum franciscanum), a rare and endemic plant to California, can be seen growing in...
Janis Gomes
- Nov 30, 2017
Soaproot: A Multi-use Marvel
Soaproot: A Multi-use Marvel (Chlorogalum pomeridianum) It’s a cold and rainy November afternoon and winter is tugging at my too-thin...
Janis Gomes
- Aug 27, 2017
Yerba Buena: A Refreshing Native Steeped in History
As far back as 1775 and likely much earlier, yerba buena, a California native herb was thriving on the San Francisco peninsula. It was...
Janis Gomes
- Jul 25, 2017
Columbine: A Flower of Meanings
Columbine (Aquilegia Formosa): A Flower of Meanings Plant lore associates the columbine with at least as many meanings as the petals on...
Janis Gomes
- Apr 24, 2017
Native Trees: San Francisco’s Long time Residents
California is widely known as the home to some of the largest trees in the world. Among them is the native California redwood (Sequoia...
Rez
- Apr 18, 2017
Wild Chutney Recipe
In India as here, the rainy season is followed by a huge amount of green plants that respond to the water and are available for only a...
Janis Gomes
- Mar 2, 2017
Pollinators: All They Need is a Little Love
For the last two seasons, I’ve noticed a pretty green hummingbird; I’ll call him Al (the Allen hummingbird is a common species in...
Janis Gomes
- Jan 30, 2017
Plant Profile: Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum)
During recent walks atop Mt. Sutro, I found a fair amount of native Cow Parsnip (Heracleum maximum, syn. H. lanatum). With its large...
Janis Gomes
- Dec 2, 2016
Plant Profile: Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia)
Lately, it’s hard not to notice shrubs with bright red berries blooming just about everywhere in the City. But look more closely as only...
Janis Gomes
- Aug 31, 2016
Gardening in the Dunes
San Francisco is a city of sand. When I arrived here over 35 years ago my first garden was in a flat in the Sunset District. I recall...
Janis Gomes
- Aug 1, 2016
Plant Profile: Grindelia (Gum Plant)
Summer in San Francisco is in full swing. While the sun shines and the fog rolls in, there’s no better time to take a walk up on Mt....
Janis Gomes
- Jun 2, 2016
Plant Profile: Farewell To Spring (Clarkia)
All seasons must reach their zenith, and spring is no exception. To prove it, I was sitting chewing on a pencil in the Sutro Stewards’...
Janis Gomes
- May 2, 2016
Plant Profile: Manroot (Marah)
Since early January, I had been watching this cute little vine weave its tendrils around plants on Mt. Sutro, sometimes overwhelming...