NAPCC COLLECTION PROFILE

The Arnold Arboretu

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Michael Dosmann,
Peter Del Tredici, and Eric
S
ituated upon a 265-acre landscape
of rolling parkland and natural
woodland, the ArnoldArboretum
of Harvard University contains a diverse
collection of temperate woody plants
that is both breathtakingly beautiful
and scientifically significant. Founded in
1872 with the lofty goal to cultivate
every tree and shrub hardy out-of-doors
in Boston, Massachusetts (USDA
Hardiness Zone 6), North America's
oldest public arboretum has amassed a
synoptic collection of nearly 15,000
accessions representing approximately
4,500 unique taxa.
The Arboretum's first director,
Charles Sprague Sargent, was keenly
interested in the floras of NorthAmerica
and Eastern Asia, and the collection's
strong representation of plants from
these regions is the result of his own
botanical exploration as well as those of
other Arboretum associates of the early
20th century including Ernest H. Wilson,
Joseph Hers,Joseph Rock, and John G.
Jack. Active collection development
through plant exploration has contin-
ued. Recent noteworthy trips to Asia
include the 1980 Sino-American
Botanical Expedition as well as several
conducted under the auspices of the
NorthAmerica-China Plant Exploration
Consortium (NACPEC), of which the
Arboretum is a founding member.
Domestic plant exploration within
North America has also been a signifi-
cant source of plant material and
continues to this day.
Designed by Sargent in collaboration
with landscape architect Frederick
Law Olmsted, the landscape is both an
amenity pleasure ground and a research
institution. At its very core is the living
collection, which is central to the ful-
fillment of the institution's mission to
"discover and disseminate knowledge
of the plant kingdom to foster greater
understanding, appreciation, and
rostr;\ " (S


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stewardship of the Earth's botanical
diversity and its essential value to
humankind:' Maintained to high horticul-
tural and curatorial standards, the collec-
tion is used for on-site research and
teaching programs as well as by external
scientists and educators. Research plays
a vital role in the enhancement of the
collection, as individual accessions are
studied, documented, and become refer-
ences for future scientific endeavors.
All records are maintained in an
electronic database (BG-BASE), and all
planting locations are plotted using com-
puter-generated maps. High priority is
placed on the documentation of the
living accessions through frequent field
checking, the gathering and preparation
of voucher herbarium specimens, and
photography.The herbarium specimens
(collected in vegetative and reproductive
stages) are housed in our on-site herbari-
um (approximately 130,000 specimens)
and are part of the Harvard University
Herbaria (over 5 million specimens) in
Cambridge, Massachusetts. Such voucher-
ing of the living collection through
time increases its value and provides an
indispensable dataset for future analyses.
Should individual living plants ever be
deaccessioned, they will always remain
in our collection at least in preserved
form.All of our collections, living and
herbarium, can be searched using online
databases accessed on our website
www.arboretum.harvard.edu.
NAPCC Collections
In 2002, the ArnoldArboretum was
given official member status in the
NorthAmerican Plant Collections
Consortium (NAPCC) for a quintet of
genera: Acer, Carya, Fagus, Syringa, and
Tsuga. The selection of these five
based upon the current wi hin
the Arboretum's collection as we the
ability to achieve broad taxono
geographic diversity through additional
development. While each of the generic
collections is represented by both wild
and cultivated taxa, emphasis is on
botanical taxa or known wild origin. In
2006, Stewartia was added to our list,
bringing the total to six. In that same
year the Arboretum teamed up with 11
other gardens and arboreta to submit
an application for a multi-institutional
collection of Acer.
As with all of our collections, our
commitment to these six genera can be
divided into three primary areas: devel-
opment, management, and enhance-
ment. In developing each collection fur-
ther, priority is placed on obtaining new
taxa as well as material of documented
wild origin of taxa already held, particu-
larly of novel geographic source. Aside
from new material that is of cultivated
origin (and thus considered discre-
tionary), additions to these six genera
represent a long-term, obligatory com-
mitment. Because of their high priority,
elevated attention is paid to their man-
agement including their cultivation in
the greenhouse, nurseries, and landscape
as well as methods to prevent the loss
of historic and/or valuable lineages
through vegetative propagation. It is not
enough, however, that the collections
are developed and maintained: it is also
important that they are enhanced. We
achieve this through documentation and
research efforts as well as our support
of visiting researchers who use the
collections in their work. To facilitate
research use, we not only provide access
to the living and affiliated collections,
but offer fmancial support through
fellowships and awards.
l''Vouoretum's holdings reflect
e of the genus within the
em Hemisphere,
particularly temperate zones ofAsia.
The Acer collection comprises 133 taxa
within 55 species, with the majority of
specimens cultivated along Meadow
Road near related genera such as Aesculus
and Koelreuteria. Because of its close-
ness to the administrative building and
main gate, it is a popular destination
point for visitors.
Due to the institution's past and
present plant explorations, maples from
EasternAsia are particularly well repre-
sented.This cohort includes the trifoliate
maples, and outstanding specimens of
Acer griseum (paperbark maple),Acer
triflorum (three-flowered maple),Acer
mandshuricum (Manchurian maple)
and Acer maximowiczianum (Nikko
maple) have prospered over the years.
One of the most impressive trees in
the collection is accession 12488*B, the
first A. griseum introduced to North
America. It was collected as a seedling
byWilson in Hubei Province in 1907
during his first for the
Arboretum.The Acer colle n has been
used for an extensive fd1l f research
so tantalizing, but the conquest,
even today, affords me greater
pleasure than that of any other
group of trees.
Several of the Asian taxa in our col-
lection are quite rare in cultivation, and
thus we frequently receive requests by
researchers and other botanical institu-
tions to provide tissue and propagules.
The beech collection also contains nearly
20 cultivars of Esylvatica, including
two amazing specimens of Esylvatica
'Tortuosa' that were planted in the
1880s.These individuals, with their
dome-shaped canopies of twisted and
gnarled branches, are some of the most
frequently photographed trees at the
Arboretum.
Syringa
Among the six NAPCC collections at
the Arboretum, none is more famous
Stewartia
Although this may be our newest
NAPCC collection, receiving member
status in July 2006, Stewartia is a genus
with a great deal of history at the
Arboretum. The oldest living accession
is a S. pseudocamellia collected by
Wilson in 1917 in Korea. Two fme-Iook-
ing specimens of this taxon (AA 11440*A
and 11440*B) grow atop Bussey Hill
along Chinese Path. The collection con-
tains six other species as well as several
interspecific hybrids, varieties, and culti-
vars. As a research tool, this generic
collection has been used extensively by
previous and current Arboretum staff
members; activities have ranged from
monographic and phylogenetic studies,
to propagation and introduction of
ornamental selections. Future work in
the development and enhancement of
the collection will be assisted through
collaborative efforts with nearby Polly
Hill Arboretum on Martha's Vineyard,
another NAPCC holder of Stewartia.
presents the opportunity to cultivate
a greater number of wild-origin prove-
nances within each species.
Fagus
The Arboretum's collection of Fagus
is noteworthy because it comprises
eight of the 10 to 11 species that occur
in the Northern Hemisphere. Some of
this diversity can be credited to Wilson's
plant-collecting efforts in Asia, where
most of the species occur. In an
unpublished manuscript on his plant
introductions (Archives of the Arnold
Arporetum), he describes how he
m'!1laged to acquire Fagus engleriana,
Elucida and Elongipetiolata after
previous failed attempts:
In the spring of 1910 I determined
to collect living plants. I made a
special journey into north-western
Hupeh and in different localities
affixed wire marks on about a
dozen seedlings of each species. This
done, I arranged to leave in the
district until the autumn a man
whose sole duty was to dig up these
plants and bring them to me on
my return to !changfrom western
Szechuan. He fell sick andfailed to
carry out the trust. Winter had set
in when I returned to !chang, but
I determined to make a final effort.
I offered two of my collectors, who
were with me when the plants
were marked, fifty ounces ofsilver
if they wouldjourney forth and
bring in the plants. This they
accomplishedfor the prize to them
was great. The plants, wrapped
carefully in sphagnum moss and
packed in a ventilated trunk,
accompanied me to the Arnold
Arboretum where they arrived in
excellent condition. Today all three
are fairly well established in culti-
vation. There was no special reason
why the identity or introduction of
these Beeches should have proved
projects, and now as part of the multi-
institutional NAPCCAcer group, we
anticipate the collection will gain in
both distinction and utility.
Carya
Though easily recognized by their
large.; pinnately compound leaves, and
as important silviculture crops, hickories
are not widely represented in cultivation
outside of a few species such as Carya
ovata (shagbark hickory) and Carya
illinoinensis (pecan). Because of this
paucity, the Arboretum is committed to
maintaining a well-developed and
enhanced generic collection.There are
between 17 and 19 species of Carya
(depending upon taxonomic treat-
ment), of which 11 are grown at the
Arboretum; the collection also contains
several botanical varieties, cultivars, and
interspecific hybrids. Species of Carya
are naturally distributed on both sides
of the Pacific, however, unlike the other
genera in the NAPCC sextet, those
grown at the Arboretum are from North
America, because the Asian species are
not hardy in the Boston climate.While
this limits the among-species diversity
the Arnold's collection can amass, it
42 PUBLIC GARDEN
Syringa Collection
and familiar to the average Bostonian
than the lilac collection. For 100 years, it
has been a public tradition in mid-May
to descend upon the Syringa on Lilac
Sunday to enjoy and admire the diversi-
ty of lilacs blooming upon the northeast
slope of Bussey Hill. While the majority
of the some 200 taxa in the collection
are ornamental cultivars, a number of
the 22 species are well represented by
provenances of known wild origin.
Lilacs have been part of the Arboretum's
research program for many years, with
the collections used in the fields of
phylogenetics and pathology, in particu-
lar. The Arboretum's plant propagator,
JackAlexander, has also played a role in
the development of ornamental selec-
tions. Two notable recent introductions
are Syringa x chinensis 'Lilac Sunday'
and Syringa 'Purple Haze'.
Tsuga
Of the nine known species of hem-
lock, we have within our collection
the seven that are hardy in our climate:
1: canadensis, 1: carotiniana, 1: chinen-
sis, 1: diversijotia, 1: heteropbylla, 1:
mertensiana and 1: sieboldii. The fITst
three species are particularly well repre-
sented by numerous wild-origin acces-
sions, and the collection of 1: canaden-
sis contains nearly 50 ornamental
genotypes. The significance of hemlock
to the Arboretum predates its founding
in 1872, for one of the most prominent
primordial landscape features is 170-ft
tall Hemlock Hill, which is blanketed
by a stand of 1: canadensis. Although
much of it was devastated during the
infamous hurricane of 1938, it gradually
returned to distinction through natural
regeneration and the intentional plant-
ing of seedlings.
However, another threat followed:
the introduction of the hemlock woolly
adelgid (HWA,Adelges tsugae) to North
America fromAsia in the 1950s. First
discovered at the Arboretum in 1997,
the insect has since become a severe
pest threatening the survival of the
native stand of 1: canadensis as well as
the many accessioned 1: canadensis and
1: carotiniana. The Arboretum's policy
is to control HWA on those trees that
are accessible. However, due to the
steep topography of Hemlock Hill, not
all trees can be treated. Interestingly,
out of this dim scenario has emerged a
number of research opportunities. An
investigation into understory regenera-
tion and biogeochemistry is currently
being carried out in collaboration with
researchers from the Harvard Forest. In
another recent and related study, resist-
ance to HWA attack in other hemlock
species in the collection was evaluated.
With regard to the latter project, 1:
chinensis, which was introduced from
China byWilson, has shown the greatest
promise and has been a driver in
expanding the genetic base of this
species in our collection.
Conclusion
Each of the six genera in our collec-
tion has its own unique history, research
potential, ornamental appeal, and
management regimes. As individuals,
each stands out, is granted notice, and
applauded as soloists.Yet, as an ensemble,
our NAPCC collections are considered
exemplary and representative of our
comprehensive living collection. With
our institutional commitment is the
recognition that none of these generic
collections can ever be deemed com-
plete: there always will remain the
need for further development through
acquisition and enhancement through
documentation and research.
Michael Dosmann is Curator of Living
Collections, Peter Del Tredici is
Senior Research Scientist, and Eric
Hsu is a former Putnam Research
Fellow at the ArnoldArboretum of
Harvard University inJamaica
Plain, Massachusetts.