Close Look at Valley’s Exotic Trees
How do you tell the gender of a tree?
Ask Jeff Zoumbaris, forestry services manager for the city of Burbank and a professed tree buff. He 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 determined easily.
“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, pointing out a variety of species from Burbank to West Hills.
“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.
He pointed to an American elm that has stood for more than 100 years in what is now the 300 block of North Beachwood Drive in Burbank. About 50 feet tall, the tree has a trunk more than 6 feet in diameter.
Another example is in the 100 block of South Brighton Street in Burbank, where a 150-year-old eucalyptus stands about 100 feet tall--the largest in the city.
Among Zoumbaris’ favorite spots are a stretch of Grinnell Drive in Burbank and a segment of Stansbury Avenue in Sherman Oaks, south of Ventura Boulevard.
Grinnell looks like an enchanted forest, lined with Chinese evergreen elms. Stansbury sports a canopy of jacarandas, which in the spring bloom with purple flowers, and deodar cedars, which are often mistaken for pines.
Mary Weddington, director of the California Garden Clubs’ San Fernando Valley district, said the group is sponsoring Zoumbaris’ 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.
