#3 NEW ZEALAND CHRISTMAS TREE AT STANYAN/17TH The large, mature tree at 1221 Stanyan Street, near 17th, is a New Zealand Christmas tree (Metrosideros excelsus) - one of San Francisco’s most common trees, popular for its showy red bottlebrush flowers. And indeed all of the many hundreds of New Zealand Christmas trees on the City’s streets have red flowers - except for this one. Every June, this tree pops with spectacular yellow flowers. The backstory here involves some interesting history that helps elevate the tree to its near-the-top ranking on this list. The story goes back to Victor Reiter, San Francisco’s most famous plantsman from the 1940s until his death in 1986. In 1940, there was a natural mutation of the species on tiny Motiti Island in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty. Reiter was one of the first Californians to obtain a cutting of the yellow-flowering mutant. The Reiter family lived in several homes in a three-block stretch of Stanyan Street, and they planted the curiosity in front of their 1221 Stanyan address - still occupied today by a family member. And 75 years later, the tree is still thriving, a giant specimen that has been lovingly cared for by the owner, and which recently received landmark tree status by the City. It’s a beautiful mutant with an great history and pedigree. It also happens to be my personal favorite tree in the City, which may have something to do with its ranking of #3 on this list.