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Plants
A diverse collection of plants from all over the world can be found in Golden Gate Park. Acacias, like the Sydney golden wattle from Australia, were some of the first plants planted by William Hammond Hall to stabilize the sand dunes. They still play that role in the western portion of the park and are common all around the park.

The Coast Live Oak is the only tree native to Golden Gate Park. Some of the oldest plants in the park are the coast live oaks in the Oak Woodlands in the northeastern portion of the park which are hundreds of years old. Oaks also grown on Strawberry Hill and in the AIDS Memorial Grove. Acorns from the oak trees were an important food source to Native American groups in San Francisco.

Blue gum eucalyptus, Monterey pine, and Monterey cypress were the most commonly planted trees in the park during the late 1800s. Blue gum continued to grow and spread all around the park and is now one of the most important trees found in the park. They can be found near McClaren lodge, on Hippie Hill, and in a eucalyptus forest near Middle Lake. Monterey pines are also prevalent today and can found in the Strybing Arboretum, the Japanese Tea Garden and in the western portions of the park around the Buffalo Paddock.

Redwoods were planted in the park during the 1880s and can be found all around the park, most notably in Heroes Grove, Redwood Memorial Grove, AIDS Memorial Grove, Stanyan Meadows, on top of Hippie Hill, and in the Panhandle.

Tree ferns were planted early on by McClaren and continue to thrive in the park. Many can be found in the Tree Fern Dell, near the Conservatory of Flowers, which is made up of mostly Tasmanian tree fern.

Four out of the thirty-two San Francisco locations designated as “Natural Areas” by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department’s Natural Areas Program are in Golden Gate Park. These are the Oak Woodlands, Strawberry Hill, Whiskey Hill, and the Lily Pond. Ninety-six percent of the park is not considered a “Natural Area”.

Other than the Coast Live Oak, the plants that are currently in the park are non-native, some of which are considered invasive species. Many have disrupted the ecosystem and harm birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects in the park. Volunteers with the Strawberry Hill Butterfly Habitat Restoration Project are removing and replacing invasive plant species to help restore the butterfly population on Strawberry Hill. Under the Significant Natural Resource Areas Management Plan, the city will remove many invasive species and replace them with native plants.