Where to find some of the most beloved trees of Los Angeles

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Saturday, Feb. 3. Here’s what you need to know to start your weekend:

• Where to find some of the most beloved trees of Los Angeles
• L.A. County has its first measles case since 2020
• 22 suggestions for romantic dining options in February
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

Where to find some of the most beloved trees of Los Angeles

From the boulevards of Beverly Hills to the residential streets of South L.A., palm trees (those tall “skydusters”) have become central to L.A.’s identity.

But L.A.’s urban greenery doesn’t stop with the palm tree. Species like the coastal live oak in West Hills and the Moreton Bay fig in Palms tell the story of Los Angeles and what the land was like even before the city was here. And they are nice to visit, admire and sit under, too.

Times contributor Ryan Bradley compiled a list of 10 of the most beloved L.A. trees that Angelenos should enjoy — and protect at all costs.

To come up with this list, Bradley and photographer Devin Oktar Yalkin looked for trees that were treasured and part of L.A. history, but also as public as possible. Basically, trees you don’t have to pay to see and that are often alongside city streets.

Here are a few of them:

Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia) in the Hollywood Hills

(Devin Oktar Yalkin/For The Times)

You might be familiar with this tree because of the vibrant purple hue that radiates from it in the spring. Most of them were planted in the 1950s and ‘60s, which is likely the case with this one in the triangle where Cahuenga Boulevard and Franklin and Wilcox avenues meet. It might not be very old or very big, but it is adored. So much so that its neighbors maintain it free of charge.

Camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora) in Boyle Heights

(Devin Oktar Yalkin/For The Times)

The camphor tree, located inside Evergreen Cemetery, is among the most prominent Angelenos you could hope to find. Ever heard of the human cannonball Hugo Zacchini? He’s there, too.

Last year’s wet winter brought the camphor back to life after years of drought killed it.

Mexican avocado (Persea americana) in Atwater

(Devin Oktar Yalkin/For The Times)

This avocado tree on a quiet street in Atwater Village near the L.A. River is a “national champion” — meaning it is the largest of its kind in the U.S. — and the kind of tree that is central to L.A. history. In the 1980s, Juan Murrieta began importing great quantities of avocados from Atlixco, Mexico. They paved the way for huge commercial groves close to the river, in both Atwater and Los Feliz (around Avocado Street, naturally) where plenty of these more-than-a-century-old avocados can still be found today.

Read more about trees here:

• The greatest trees of Los Angeles
• 8 more beloved L.A. trees to enjoy and protect at all costs
• Did we miss a good one? Tell us what’s your favorite tree in Los Angeles. We may feature your response in a future story.

The week’s biggest stories

A man swims chest-deep through flood waters with his cellphone near three cars that are submerged after rain flooded several areas of Long Beach.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Storms and flooding

• ‘Prepare now’: California’s next storm may bring ‘life-threatening’ flooding.
• El Niño and climate change are supercharging the incoming storm, SoCal’s biggest this winter
• An atmospheric river already inundated roads and forced water rescues across SoCal this week. The next storm looks worse.

Elections and politics

• Steve Garvey touts ‘family values’ in his Senate bid. Some of his kids tell another story.
• How Katie Porter harnesses her blunt style and single-mom experience in her Senate campaign.
• Voter guide to the 2024 California primary election.
• What happened with Trump’s trials in January.
• President Biden is coming to Los Angeles Saturday as part of a whirlwind trip west.

Crime and courts

• Lies, homicides, a getaway plan: Gripping details emerge in case of cop who catfished a Riverside teen.
• A massacre that killed 6 reveals the treacherous world of illegal pot in SoCal deserts.
• Marijuana dispute led to desert massacre in San Bernardino that killed 6.
• Tearful mom describes horror as car sped through intersection, killing her two sons.
• A judge tosses Disney’s free speech lawsuit against Ron DeSantis; Disney appeals.

More big stories

• Thousands of California homeowners can cut their property tax bill. Here’s how.
• L.A. County has its first measles case since 2020: What to do if you’re exposed.
• What L.A. renters should know now that COVID tenant protections are gone.
• Do you want to sell your house? In historically Black Leimert Park, the question triggers fear and anger.
• ‘I would absolutely not fly a Max airplane’: Ex-Boeing manager raises alarm on jets returning to service.
• Rage in Gaza isn’t directed only at Israel. Some are angry with Hamas too.
• Did you pay H&R Block for tax help? You may be getting a refund.
• Carl Weathers, ‘Rocky’s’ Apollo Creed and ‘Mandalorian’ star, dies at 76.

Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.

Column One

Column One is The Times’ home for narrative and longform journalism. Here’s a great piece from this week:

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

James Dean made his last stop at this lonely gas station. Memories of him are fading. James Dean’s last stop before he died in a car crash was at Blackwell’s Corner, a gas station in rural Kern County. His memory isn’t the draw it once was.

More great reads

• What happens when Latinos don’t know our medical history?
• What’s behind the right’s attack on Swift-Kelce romance? Fear of a powerful woman.
• In Riverside, she was a nobody. In Ireland, her affair with a bishop rocked the Catholic Church.
• The original Caesar salad has been made this way for 100 years in Tijuana.
• California finally has a reparations plan. Why is it half-baked and disorganized?

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected].

For your weekend

Bar Chelou - View of interior from the bar area.

(Dino Kuznik / For The Times)

Going out

• 😘 Thinking about romantic dining options in February? Our critic has 22 suggestions.
• 🥗 No salad says L.A. like the Caesar. 10 of the best to try right now.
• 🎤 A ‘puro pari’ weekend: Cumbia rave, Los Tigres del Norte and banda at First Fridays.

Staying in

• ✏️ Take our L.A. Times news quiz. This week, it’s all about the 49ers, foodstuffs and ‘Family Guy.’
• 📺 ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith,’ out now on Amazon Prime Video, looks at quotidian life of married assassins.
• 🧑‍🍳 Here’s a recipe for easy chocolate soufflés.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

L.A. Affairs

Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.

(Maki Yamaguchi / For The Times)

I met my dream man. The only problem? He wasn’t my husband. I flew back to my husband, brushing off the night with Anthony as harmless flirting. But every time I remembered his fingers against my leg, an electric surge swept my body.

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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