Raffi at 14:31, 9 April 2007

2007-04-09T14:31:38Z

New page

An '''arboretum''' is a [[botanical garden]] primarily devoted to [[tree]]s and other [[woody plant]]s, forming a living collection of trees intended at least partly for scientific study. An arboretum specialising in growing [[conifer]]s is known as a '''pinetum'''.

==Invention==
[[image:arboretum.westonbirt.750pix.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Autumn colours at [[Westonbirt Arboretum]], Gloucestershire, England]]The term 'arboretum' was first used in an [[English language|English]] publication by [[John Claudius Loudon]] in 1833 in ''The Gardener's Magazine'' but the concept was already long-established by then.

The first arboretum was the [[Arboretum Trsteno]], near [[Dubrovnik]] in [[Croatia]]. The date of its founding is unknown, but it was already in existence by [[1492]], when a 15 m (50 ft) span [[aqueduct]] to irrigate the arboretum was constructed; this aqueduct is still in use. It was created by the prominent local Gučetić/Gozze family. It suffered two major disasters in the [[1990s]] but its two unique and ancient [[Oriental Plane]]s remained standing.

Commenting on [[Loddiges]]' famous [[Hackney Botanic Garden]] arboretum, begun in 1816, and opened free to the public for educational benefit every Sunday, Loudon wrote: "The arboretum looks better this season than it has ever done since it was planted... The more lofty trees suffered from the late high winds, but not materially. We walked round the two outer spirals of this coil of trees and shrubs; viz. from ''Acer'' to ''Quercus''. There is no garden scene about London so interesting". A plan of Loddiges' arboretum was included in ''The Encyclopaedia of Gardening'', 1834 edition. Leaves from Loddiges' arboretum and in some instances entire trees, were studiously drawn to illustrate Loudon's encyclopaedic book ''Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum'' published in 1838, which also incorporated drawings from other early botanic gardens and parklands throughout the United Kingdom.

The [[Westonbirt Arboretum]], near Tetbury, Gloucestershire, [[England]], was founded around 1828 as the private tree collection of Captain [[Robert Holford]] at the [[Holford estate]]. Holford planted in open fields and laid out rides before he rebuilt the house. Planting at Westonbirt was continued by his son, George Holford. Eventually the estate passed to the government in lieu of death duties and was opened to the public.

==Later examples==

[[Image:Abney park cemetery 2.jpg|200px|right|thumb|During part of the 18th century, [[Abney Park Cemetery]] was the largest arboretum in Europe.]]

;Abney Park Arboretum
Shortly before the Derby Arboretum opened, a more complete arboretum was opened for free public access at [[Abney Park Cemetery]] in [[Stoke Newington]] near London, modelled partly on [[Mount Auburn Cemetery]] near Boston and designed by [[Loddiges]] nursery. It was laid out with 2,500 trees and shrubs, all labelled and arranged in an unusual alphabetical format from A for ''Acer'' (maple trees) to Z for ''Zanthoxylum'' (American toothache trees). Until [[Kew]] was enlarged and opened to the public, this remained the largest arboretum in Europe. It never achieved the recognition of the better financed early nineteenth century botanical gardens and arboreta that could afford members' events, indoor facilities and curatoral staff for those who paid accordingly. However unlike these, and even unlike the 'public' arboretum at Derby, the Abney Park arboretum always offered public access free of charge, though sometimes, by pre-arrangement; a ''Viewing Order'' was needed so as not to interefere with funeral events.

;Arnold Arboretum
[[Harvard University]]'s [[Arnold Arboretum]] in [[Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts|Jamaica Plain]], [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], [[Massachusetts]] is one of the oldest, largest, and most famous arboreta in the United States. It was established in 1872 on 107 [[Hectare|ha]] (264 [[acre]]s) of land in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston and was guided for m
any years by [[Charles Sprague Sargent]] who was appointed the Arboretum's first director in 1873 and spent the following 54 years shaping the policies. By an arrangement with the city of Boston, the Arnold Arboretum became part of the famous "Emerald Necklace", the 10 km (7 mile) long network of parks and parkways that Frederick Law Olmsted laid out for the Boston Parks Department between 1878 and 1892.

;Arborétum Mlyňany
{{commons|Arborétum Mlyňany}}
[[Arborétum Mlyňany]] is located in the area of two neighboring villages Vieska nad Žitavou and Tesárske Mlyňany near [[Zlaté Moravce]], [[Slovakia]]. It was established in 1892 by Count [[Štefan Ambrózy-Migazzi]]. Today, it is governed by the [[Slovak Academy of Sciences]]. Within its 67 ha (165 acre) area, the arboretum features more than 2300 woody plant species, being one of the largest collections in [[Central Europe]].

;Bedgebury Pinetum
[[Bedgebury Pinetum]] near [[Goudhurst, Kent]] is one of the world's most complete collections of [[conifer]]s.

;Derby Arboretum
The first public arboretum in England was [[Derby, England|Derby]] Arboretum, laid out by J.C. Loudon, and donated to the citizens of Derby by Joseph Strutt, on Wednesday [[16 September]] [[1840]]. In 1859 it was visited by [[Frederick Law Olmsted]] on his European tour of parks, and it had an influence on the planting in [[Central Park]], New York. Loudon wrote a catalogue of the trees in Derby Arboretum in 1840; unfortunately, industrial pollution killed most of the original plantings by the 1880s, but it is being renovated and replanted closer to Loudon's original layout.

;Hoyt Arboretum
Located in [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], [[Oregon]], [[United States]], the [[Hoyt Arboretum]] has over 75 ha (185 acres) and close to 8,300 different species of plants.

[[Image:Morton Arboretum woodland.jpg|200px|right|thumb|A [[woodland]] ecosystem in the [[Morton Arboretum]].]]

;Morton Arboretum
Located in [[Lisle, Illinois|Lisle]], [[Illinois]] the [[Morton Arboretum]] was founded in 1922 by Joy Morton, founder of the Morton Salt Company and son of Arbor Day originator [[Julius Sterling Morton]]. At 687 ha (1,700 acres) the Arboretum is one of the largest in the world, and features several mature deciduous and coniferous forests, as well as collections of plant life from around the globe, in addition to ten lakes, several wetlands, and a 40 ha (100 acre) restored prairie.

;Nottingham Arboretum
Affectionately referred to as "The Arbo", the [[Nottingham Arboretum]] is a large park that also gives its name to the residential area - in which it lies - of the City of [[Nottingham]], England.

;Peru State College Arboretum
[[Peru State College]]’s “Campus of a Thousand Oaks,” an arboretum campus, is nestled in historic southeast [[Nebraska]]. The state’s first and fastest-growing college, Peru State was established by the Nebraska legislature in 1867 and now offers a unique mix of innovative online and traditional classroom undergraduate and graduate programs.

;United States National Arboretum
In 1927 the [[United States National Arboretum]] was established in Washington D.C. on 180 ha (444 acres) of land; currently it receives over half a million annual visitors. Single-genus groupings include [[Malus|apples]], [[azalea]]s, [[boxwood]]s, [[dogwood]]s, [[Holly|hollies]], [[magnolia]]s and [[maple]]s. Other major garden features include collections of herbaceous and aquatic plants, the National [[Bonsai]] and [[Penjing]] Museum, the Asian Collections, the Conifer Collections, native plant collections, the National Herb Garden and the 'National Grove' of all the designated [[List of U.S. state trees|State Trees]].

;University of Wisconsin Arboretum
The Arboretum at the [[University of Wisconsin-Madison]] in [[Madison, Wisconsin|Madison]], [[Wisconsin]] is a study collection devoted to ecology rather than systematics. Founded in the 1930s, it was a [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] project which restored a body of land to its presettlement state. Portions of the [[Walt Disney]] nature [[documentary film|documentary
]], "The Vanishing Prairie", were filmed there, notably the prairie fire, filmed during a controlled burn at the Arboretum.

[[Image:Washington_Park_-_3.jpg|200px|right|thumb|The 1911 Lynn Street [[Aqueduct]] in the [[Washington Park Arboretum]] in [[Seattle, Washington|Seattle]]]]

;Washington Park Arboretum
The Washington Park Arboretum at the [[University of Washington]] in [[Seattle, Washington]] was established in [[1934]] as a public space that would agreed upon by the University of Washington and the City of Seattle. Seattle at the time had in its possession a 500+ ha (200+ acre) park known as Washington park located in the central portion of the city, and the University was given authority to design, construct, plant, and manage an Arboretum and [[Botanical Garden]] in this park. It has been a popular destination of Seattlites ever since. In 2005, the Washington Park Arboretum, as well as the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture, Elisabeth C. Miller Library, Otis Hyde Herbarium and Union Bay Natural Area, began operating under the umbrella of the University of Washington Botanic Gardens.

==See also==
*[[Arboretum]]
*[[Tree]]
*[[Wood]]
*[[Xylotheque]]

==External links==
*[http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston, MA]
*[http://www.baileyarboretum.org Bailey Arboretum ("The Teaching Arboretum"), Lattingtown, NY]
*[http://www.batsarb.co.uk/oldweb.php The Batsford Arboretum, Gloucestershire]
*[http://www.bernheim.org/ Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest]
*[http://arboretum.ag.arizona.edu Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, AZ]
*[http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/arb/ Carleton College's Cowling Arboretum, Northfield, MN]
*[http://www.dawesarb.org/ Dawes Arboretum, Newark, OH]
*[http://www.derbyarboretum.co.uk/ Derby Arboretum website, with full history]
*[http://www.eastwoodhill.org.nz/ Eastwoodhill arboretum, Gisborne, New Zealand]
*[http://www.thearb.org/ The Arboretum at Flagstaff]
*[http://arboretum.ufm.edu/ Universidad Francisco Marroquin Arboretum, Guatemala, Guatemala]
*[http://www.hoytarboretum.org/ Hoyt Arboretum, Portland, Oregon, United States]
*[http://www.ncsu.edu/jcraulstonarboretum/ Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh, NC]
*[http://www.arboretum.sav.sk/ Arborétum Mlyňany, Slovakia]
*[http://www.umich.edu/~wwwarb/links/ Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor, MI]
*[http://www.ncarboretum.org The North Carolina Arboretum, Asheville, NC]
*[http://www.shawnature.org/ Shaw Nature Reserve]
*[http://www.arboretum.uiuc.edu/gardens.htm UIUC Arboretum, Urbana, IL]
*[http://www.usna.usda.gov/Information/historymissn.html U.S. National Arboretum, Washington D.C.]
*[http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-5y4f5k Westonbirt Arboretum Forestry Commission]
*[http://www.fowa.org.uk/ Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum]
*[http://www.morganarboretum.org/ Morgan Arboretum, Ste Anne de Bellevue, Quebec]
*[http://www.glfc.forestry.ca/arboretum/index_e.html The Great Lakes Forestry Centre Arboretum, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario]
*[http://www.xiloteca.com Xiloteca Manuel Soler]

[[Category:Arboreta| ]]
[[Category:Botany]]

Arboretum - Revision history

Raffi at 14:31, 9 April 2007