HERITAGE TREES

Heritage trees are individual trees of any size or species that are specially designated as heritage because of their historical, commemorative, or horticultural significance. The list of designated Heritage Trees remains open for new designations and provides useful information to Department of Recreation and Parks staff regarding the importance of their actions while planning activities near heritage trees.

African sausage tree at Green Meadows Parks PDF 403 KB
African sausage trees at Mac Arthur Park PDF 399 KB
African wild plum at Green Meadows Parks PDF 317 KB
African wattle trees at Echo Park PDF 290 KB
Cape fig at Barrington Park PDF 323 KB
Giant dioon at Rustic Canyon Park PDF 294 KB
Tall mahoe tree at Elysian Park PDF 313 KB
Spider gum at Palisades Park PDF 366 KB
Firewheel tree at Lafayette Park PDF 392 KB
NOTE: The majority of the above documents are in PDF format and must be viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader. To Download Acrobat Reader, CLICK HERE

In January 2004, the Department began the inventory of an estimated one million trees in City Parks using a system that provides detailed information on tree species and the value of its characteristics in relation to active and passive recreation, its cooling/shading effects, as well as its ecological and financial benefits. Global Positioning System (GPS) using satellites is utilized, which is able to record the location of park trees with an accuracy of less than 12 inches. Recorded GPS information is transferred onto a Geographic Information System (GIS) ArcView map. Field collected data is then enriched with information entered into the Data Base, which is linked to the individual tree species. Combined information is then sent to the GIS Division, Bureau of Engineering, Public Works Department that you can view on NavigateLA.

Staff has completed the inventory of one of the most valuable tree categories in City parks - the Heritage Trees. We invite you to print the map and visit our parks to enjoy our unique trees. The tree inventory is also used in the Department in offering nature related programs to schools and to the public.