Tree Expert to Lead Tour Highlighting the Arboreal Wonders of the Valley

How do you tell the gender of a tree?

Ask Jeff Zoumbaris, forestry services manager for the city of Burbank and a self-professed tree buff who knows all sorts of trivia and interesting facts--scientific and historic--about the hundreds of thousands of trees that line streets in the San Fernando Valley.

Take, for instance, the floss-silk tree.

It sports the botanical equivalent of pink or blue booties so its gender can be easily determined.

“Only the female has thorns, lots of thorns,” Zoumbaris said, pointing to a specimen at the Burbank public works plant on Lake Avenue.

On Friday he will conduct a five-hour tour of some of the area’s most exotic and historic trees, visiting a variety of species from Burbank to West Hills, most on city property but a few on private land.

“There are over 30,000 trees in the city of Burbank alone, and in the city of L.A. there are over 1 million and a majority of those are in the Valley,” Zoumbaris said.

One of the most astonishing facts about Valley trees, he said, is that they have survived for decades--sometimes centuries--in often adverse conditions.

“To survive within the confines of all the construction, cars and pollution is incredible,” he said.

“It’s truly amazing that they’re even around.”

He pointed to an American elm tree that has lived for more than 100 years in the 300 block of North Beachwood Drive in Burbank. Standing about 50 feet tall, its trunk measures more than 6 feet in diameter.

“It’s incredible that it has survived all these years surrounded by asphalt and the cement of the sidewalk,” Zoumbaris said.

Another good example of survival of the fittest is in the 100 block of South Brighton Street in Burbank, where a 150-year-old eucalyptus stands about 100 feet tall, making it the largest in the city.

In the West Valley there are three valley oak trees estimated to be several hundred years old, Zoumbaris said.

They are located in the 23400 block of Los Encinos Way in Woodland Hills.

“There are very few left,” he said.

“It’s incredible that those are still around.”

Other interesting species the tour will visit include rare pecan trees near Sepulveda Dam, 70-year-old deodar cedars in Van Nuys and a rare deciduous dawn redwood in Sherman Oaks that sits in the frontyard of a private home.

Among Zoumbaris’ favorite spots are a stretch of Grinnell Drive in Burbank and an area of Stansbury Avenue in Sherman Oaks, south of Ventura Boulevard.

Grinnell Drive looks like an enchanted forest, lined with Chinese evergreen elms. Stansbury Avenue is picturesque with its canopy of jacarandas, which in the spring bloom with purple flowers, and deodar cedars, which are often mistaken for pine trees.

“It’s like being in a whole different environment,” Zoumbaris said.

“It’s just so beautiful up there. Some of those trees are 60, 70 years old.”

Mary Weddington, director of the California Garden Clubs’ San Fernando Valley district, said she created the tour because many people have no idea how precious these trees are.

The state nonprofit organization, with about 400 members in the Valley alone, is dedicated to conservation and beautification.

“Nature is an all-important consideration that’s overlooked too often,” Weddington said.

“This is a way to help change that.”

The bus tour, sponsored by the San Fernando Valley chapter of the California Garden Clubs, will begin at 9 a.m. Friday. For more information, call (818) 559-3641.