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Sutro Stewards
May 18, 2022
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...
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