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The Cornell Botanic Gardens is a
botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
located adjacent to the
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
campus in
Ithaca, New York Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...
. The Botanic Gardens proper consist of of botanical gardens and of the F. R. Newman Arboretum. The greater Botanic Gardens includes 40 different nature areas around Cornell and Ithaca, covering . The origin of the Botanic Gardens dates back to Cornell's beginning in the mid-19th century and are part of the university's longtime interest in agriculture, forestry, and the natural sciences. The Botanic Gardens saw a major planting effort during the 1930s and assumed the name Cornell Plantations in 1944. Gardens and facilities have continually expanded, including a construction program at the start of the 21st century. The Botanic Gardens also maintains four gardens on Cornell's central campus. The Botanic Gardens offers three courses for academic credit, are used as a resource by other classes, host a number of informal lectures and tours, and have played a part in many scholarly papers. , the Botanic Gardens had a $2.9 million annual operating budget. The name was changed to the current form in 2016. The gardens specialize in trees and shrubs native to New York State. The themed herb garden is especially noted. The Botanic Gardens have been the subject of several books and films over the years, are open daily without charge, and have been recommended as a visitation site by a number of travel books and newspaper travel sections.


History

Prior to the founding of
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
,
Ezra Cornell Ezra Cornell (; January 11, 1807 – December 9, 1874) was an American businessman, politician, academic, and philanthropist. He was the founder of Western Union and a co-founder of Cornell University. He also served as president of the New York ...
had a large farm on the East Hill above Ithaca, New York. As part of locating New York State's land-grant college in Ithaca, Cornell offered to donate the farm for use as a campus. In 1862, Cornell's first president,
Andrew Dickson White Andrew Dickson White (November 7, 1832 – November 4, 1918) was an American historian and educator who co-founded Cornell University, one of eight Ivy League universities in the United States, and served as its first president for nearly two de ...
, wrote a colleague that a great university should include a botanical garden: “It must have the best of Libraries – collections in different departments – Laboratory – Observatory – Botanical Garden perhaps…” At the university's opening ceremony in 1868,
Louis Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he recei ...
, an internationally known naturalist, remarked that no other area could compete with Cornell's surroundings in the opportunities offered for the study of natural history. From its inception, Cornell formed a reputation for creative means of research into the natural sciences, including the establishment of the pioneering College of Agriculture. When the university built its first women's dormitory in 1875, it included a conservatory for growing plants and a specimen tree collection. Separately, the College of Veterinary Medicine started a specialized garden of plants that are poisonous to livestock. Cornell's farm included two deep gorges which flanked both sides of the early campus, and as the campus developed the gorges remained undeveloped and filled with native plants and wildlife. These became the start of the on-campus gardens and arboretum. A goal of creating an explicit arboretum was proposed in various university reports to trustees and other publications in 1877, 1883, 1908, and 1914. Cornell's acquisition of off-campus forest land dates to 1898 and the founding of the
New York State College of Forestry The New York State College of Forestry, the first professional school of forestry in North America, opened its doors at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York, in the autumn of 1898., It was advocated for by Governor Frank S. Black, but after just ...
, which was the first forestry college in North America. As a part of establishing that school, Cornell acquired a demonstration forest near Saranac Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. The harvesting of trees from that forest drew heated opposition from neighboring land owners. Although political opposition caused Cornell to transfer the forest lands under the "forever wild" protection of the Adirondack Forest Preserve and to transfer Cornell's forestry education programs to its College of Agriculture, Cornell continued to acquire forest land remote from its main campus. In 1935, the decision to create an arboretum was finally made and the university established the Arboretum as a separate department. From 1935 to 1940, the federal government's
Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...
Camp SP 48 devoted 170 to 200 workers to planting trees, constructing dikes, and building trails in order to develop the Arboretum. In 1944,
Liberty Hyde Bailey Liberty Hyde Bailey (March 15, 1858 – December 25, 1954) was an American Horticulture, horticulturist and reformer of rural life. He was cofounder of the American Society for Horticultural Science.Makers of American Botany, Harry Baker Humphrey ...
, the Dean emeritus of the College of Agriculture and a horticulturalist highly regarded around the world, proposed the name Cornell Plantations for an expanded department in a report that reflected the work of a number of botany and horticulture professors. By 1948, the Plantations numbered and the first Director was named, John F. Cornman. During a 1949 broadcast on widely heard radio station WGY, Cornell emeritus professor Bristow Adams reflected upon the now five-year-old Plantations, and stated that the relationship between humans and things that grow were of utmost importance and that gardens, forests, and parks were everlasting collections that "have the care and trusteeships of generation after generation." In the mid-1960s, the sculpture garden was constructed in the middle of the Arboretum as a project of the College of Architecture Art and Planning. By 1965, the Plantations consisted of . By 1970, the university was issuing a publication called ''The Cornell Plantations'', which contained general articles on nature and environmental topics. Beginning in the early 1970s, the Arboretum was upgraded with new roads and plantings funded by major gifts from oil industry figure Floyd R. Newman, and in 1982 the Arboretum was formally named in his honor (as were several other buildings and facilities at Cornell over the years). During the 1980s, the Plantations experienced people stealing pines and firs for
Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...
s, with in some cases trees being taken that were worth several thousand dollars. A successful countermeasure created by Gerardo Sciarra at the Plantations was covering the trees with a harmless yet visually unpleasant "Ugly Mix" spray that included hydrated limestone, an anti-desiccant, and water. The technique was subsequently recommended to others worried about tree theft. In 2009, the Plantations suffered from a series of thefts of new or rare plants. A director at the Plantations, which had no security in place, said that the thieves must have been experienced horticulturalists and that the loss of research and species had been a demoralizing experience. At the start of the 21st century, the Plantations embarked on a construction program which included: Arboretum Center (2000), Horticultural Center (2001), Mullestein Winter Garden (2002), Ramin Administration Building (2003), Rowley Carpenter Shop (2004), Plant Production Facility (2007), and Lewis Education Center (2008). The new $7.5 million Brian C. Nevin Welcome Center was dedicated on October 28, 2010. Five years in the designing and building, the new facility was built to
LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...
gold standards and won a 2010 Award of Excellence from ''
Canadian Architect Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
'' magazine. By the 2010s, the name Cornell Plantations was proving problematic, due to the association of the word with
plantations in the American South Plantation complexes were common on agricultural plantations in the Southern United States from the 17th into the 20th century. The complex included everything from the main residence down to the Pen (enclosure), pens for livestock. Until the ...
and
slavery in the United States The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of List of ethnic groups of Africa, Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865 ...
. In 2015 the university's Black Students United organization demanded that Cornell "change the name of tas soon as possible." The name was technically inaccurate as well, with
plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...
s usually being a large-scale monocultural for commercial purposes, which this was not. A change of the name was under consideration for the better part of ten years, and then during 2014–16 there were focus groups, surveys, and polls taken to determine a favorite among nine possible different names for the Plantations, and Cornell Botanic Gardens was chosen as the new name in 2016.


Current extent


F.R. Newman Arboretum

The F.R. Newman arboretum contains the following collections on : ; Chestnut Collection :Established in 2000 with 5 transplanted, grafted
chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...
trees for each of 5 cultivars. At present 4 trees remain, representing 3 of the 5 cultivars. Eventually 25 cultivars will be represented. American Chestnut: Mundy Wildflower Garden, Schnee Oak Collection, Bald Hill and Caroline Pinnacles, Cayuta Lake, Ringwood Ponds, South Hill Swamp. Source of plant: The American Chestnut Foundation, Allen Nichols, Stanley Scharf ; Conifer Collection :Several sites with 21
taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...
of
fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...
s (excluding dwarf forms), 39 of
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
s, and 25 of
spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...
s. ; Flowering Crabapple Collection :83 cultivars in a new collection; many trees are quite small. ; Maple Collection :One of the core collections. One site contains
Red Maple ''Acer rubrum'', the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant nati ...
('' Acer rubrum''),
Sugar Maple ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and the eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the ...
(''Acer saccharum''),
Silver Maple ''Acer saccharinum'', commonly known as silver maple, creek maple, silverleaf maple, soft maple, large maple, water maple, swamp maple, or white maple, is a species of maple native to the eastern and central United States and southeastern Canad ...
(''Acer saccharinum''), and Striped Maple (''Acer pensylvanicum''). Another contains an overstory of '' Acer × freemanii'' with an understory of shade-loving maples, including snakebark maples (''Acer davidii'' and ''Acer tegmentosum'') and small trees similar to the Japanese maple, such as ''Acer shirasawanum'' and ''Acer pseudosieboldianum''. A third site consists primarily of small Asian Maples. ; Oak Collection :50
oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...
in a fairly young collection, with a goal of acquiring all species hardy in Zone 5. ; Urban Tree Collection :Planted throughout the arboretum. ; Walnut Collection :The oldest collection, planted in the early 1960s. 20 cultivars, representing
Black Walnut ''Juglans nigra'', the eastern American black walnut, is a species of deciduous tree in the walnut family, Juglandaceae, native to central and eastern North America, growing mostly in riparian zones. Black walnut is susceptible to thousand can ...
(''
Juglans Walnut trees are any species of tree in the plant genus ''Juglans'', the type genus of the family (biology), family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are referred to as walnuts. All species are deciduous trees, tall, with pinnate leaves , with ...
nigra''), Butternut (''Juglans cinerea'') and Heartnut (''Juglans ailanthifolia''). In addition, the arboretum features an extensive set of trails.


Botanical gardens

The botanical gardens specialize in trees and shrubs native to New York State. Overall, they contain a wide variety of ornamental, useful, and native plants on , arranged into gardens as follows: ;Container Gardens :Ornamental plants suitable for growing in containers, such as ''
Agastache ''Agastache'' () is a genus of aromatic flowering herbaceous perennial plants in the family Lamiaceae. It contains 22 species, mainly native to North America, one species native to eastern Asia. The common names of the species are a variety of f ...
foeniculum'', ''
Agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the arid regions of the Americas. The genus is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large Rosette (botany), rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves. Many plan ...
'', ''
Alocasia ''Alocasia'' is a genus of rhizomatous or tuberous, broad-leaved, perennial, flowering plants from the family Araceae. There are about 90 accepted species native to tropical and subtropical Asia and eastern Australia. Around the world, many growe ...
esculenta'', ''
Amaranthus ''Amaranthus'' is a cosmopolitan group of more than 50 species which make up the genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some names include " prostrate pigweed" and " love lies bleeding". Some amaranth ...
'', '' Canna × generalis'', ''
Celosia ''Celosia'' ( ) is a small genus of edible and ornamental plants in the amaranth family, Amaranthaceae. Its species are commonly known as woolflowers, or, if the flower heads are crested by fasciation, cockscombs. The plants are well known in E ...
'', ''
Coleus ''Coleus'' (, ) is a genus of annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, sometimes succulent, sometimes with a fleshy or tuberous rootstock, found in the Afro-Eurasia tropics and subtropics. The relationship among the genera ''Coleus'', '' Solenoste ...
'', ''
Colocasia ''Colocasia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Some species are widely cultivated and naturalized in other tropical and subtropical regions. The names elephant-ear and ...
'', ''
Cordyline ''Cordyline'' is a genus of about 24 species of woody monocotyledonous flowering plants in family (biology), family Asparagaceae, subfamily Lomandroideae. The subfamily has previously been treated as a separate family Laxmanniaceae, or Lomandrace ...
'', '' Cuphea'', ''
Cycad Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk (botany), trunk with a crown (botany), crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants o ...
'', '' Duranta erecta'', '' Eucalyptus cinerea'', ''
Fuchsia ''Fuchsia'' ( ) is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. Almost 110 species of ''Fuchsia'' are recognized; the vast majority are native to South America, but a few occur north through Central America to Mex ...
'', ''
Hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Malva, mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising List of Hibiscus species, several hundred species that are Native plant, native to warm temperate, Subtropics, subtropical ...
acetosella'', ''
Iresine ''Iresine'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae. It contains 20 to 25 species, all of which are native to the American tropics. The generic name is derived from the Greek word εριος (''erios''), meaning "wooly", refer ...
'', ''
Lantana camara ''Lantana camara'' (common lantana) is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family (Verbenaceae), native to the American tropics. It is a very adaptable species, which can inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems; once it has been introduced i ...
'', '' Melianthus major'', ''
Perilla frutescens ''Perilla frutescens'', also called deulkkae () or Korean perilla, is a species of '' Perilla'' in the mint family Lamiaceae. It is an annual plant native to Southeast Asia and Indian highlands, and is traditionally grown in the Korean peninsul ...
'', ''
Phormium tenax ''Phormium tenax'' (called flax in New Zealand English; in Māori language, Māori; New Zealand flax outside New Zealand; and New Zealand hemp in historical nautical contexts) is an evergreen perennial plant native to New Zealand and Norfolk I ...
'', '' Salpiglossis sinuata'', and '' Solenostemon scutellarioides''. ;Deans Garden :Herbaceous and woody plants, many uncommon in the Ithaca area, such as '' Vancouveria hexanra'' and '' Stuartia pseudocamellia''. ;Decorative Arts Flower Garden :A wide variety of flowers including
sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a species of large annual forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the pr ...
,
carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' ( ), commonly known as carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus'' native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region. Its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive cultivation over the last 2,00 ...
,
rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
,
poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug ...
,
peony The peony or paeony () is any flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'', the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae. Peonies are native to Asia, Europe, and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguish ...
, iris,
lily ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...
,
chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums ( ), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants in the Asteraceae family. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia, and the center of diversity is in China. Co ...
, daisy, and
tulip Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes in the ''Tulipa'' genus. Their flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly coloured, generally red, orange, pink, yellow, or white. They often have a different colour ...
. ;Flowering Shrub and Ornamental Grass Garden :Flowering shrubs, ornamental grasses, and perennials including daylillies. Shrubs include ''
Hypericum ''Hypericum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Hypericaceae (formerly considered a subfamily of Clusiaceae). The genus has a nearly worldwide distribution, missing only from tropical lowlands, deserts and polar re ...
'', ''
Hydrangea ''Hydrangea'' ( or ) is a genus of more than 70 species of Flowering plant, flowering plants native plant, native to Asia and the Americas. Hydrangea is also used as the common name for the genus; some (particularly ''Hydrangea macrophylla, H. m ...
'', and ''
Potentilla ''Potentilla'' is a genus containing over 500 species of Annual plant, annual, Biennial plant, biennial and Perennial plant, perennial herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants in the rose family (biology), family, Rosaceae. Potentillas m ...
''; grasses include ''
Calamagrostis ''Calamagrostis'' (reed grass or smallweed) is a genus of flowering plants in the grass family Poaceae, with about 260 species that occur mainly in temperate regions of the globe. Towards equatorial latitudes, species of ''Calamagrostis'' general ...
'', '' Chasmanthium latifolium'', ''
Festuca ''Festuca'' (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on ...
'', ''
Miscanthus ''Miscanthus'', or silvergrass'','' is a genus of African, Eurasian, and Pacific Island plants in the grass family, Poaceae. The name is derived from the Greek words "''miskos"'', meaning "stem", and "''anthos"'', meaning "flower", in reference ...
'', '' Molinia'', ''
Panicum virgatum ''Panicum virgatum'', commonly known as switchgrass, is a perennial warm season bunchgrass native to North America, where it occurs naturally from 55th parallel north, 55°N latitude in Canada southwards into the United States and Mexico. Switch ...
'', '' Pennisetum alopecuroides'', and '' Saccharum ravennae''. ;Groundcover Garden :Groundcovers including ''
Asarum ''Asarum'' is a genus of plants in the birthwort family Aristolochiaceae, commonly known as wild ginger. ''Asarum'' is from Greek ἄσαρον, a name for '' Asarum europaeum''. Description ''Asarum'' is a genus of low-growing herbs distri ...
'', ''
Athyrium ''Athyrium'' (lady-fern) is a genus of about 180 species of terrestrial ferns, with a cosmopolitan distribution. It is placed in the family Athyriaceae, in the order Polypodiales. Its genus name is from Greek '' a-'' ('without') and Latinized G ...
'', ''
Cyclamen hederifolium ''Cyclamen hederifolium'', the ivy-leaved cyclamen or sowbread, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae. This widespread cyclamen species is widely cultivated and among the most hardy and vigorous in oceanic climates. It is ...
'', ''
Dryopteris :''The moth genus ''Dryopteris'' is now considered a junior synonym of ''Oreta. ''Dryopteris'' , commonly called the wood ferns, male ferns (referring in particular to ''Dryopteris filix-mas''), or buckler ferns, is a fern genus in the family Dry ...
'', '' Helleborus orientalis'', ''
Hosta ''Hosta'' (, synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Funkia'') is a genus of plants commonly known as hostas, plantain lilies and occasionally by the Japanese name gibōshi. Hostas are widely cultivated as shade-tolerant foliage plants. The genus is placed ...
'', ''
Lysimachia ''Lysimachia'' ( ) is a genus consisting of 182 accepted species of flowering plants traditionally classified in the family Primulaceae. Based on a molecular phylogenetic study it was transferred to the family Myrsinaceae, before this family w ...
'', '' Marrubium'', and '' Pachysandra''. ;Robison Herb Garden :Opened in 1974 after 20 years of being envisioned and 2 years of construction, it consists of 17 raised beds of herbs, arranged by theme as follows: Ornamental Herbs; Herbs of the Ancients; Herbs in Literature; Bee Herbs; Salads and Potherbs; Edible flowers; Herbs of the Native Americans; Medicinal Herbs; Culinary Herbs; Economic Herbs; Dye Herbs; Tea Herbs; Fragrant Herbs; Sacred Herbs; Scented Geraniums; Savory Seed Herbs; and Tussie-Mussies and Nosegays. The sources to begin the garden came from around the world, with some species linked to cultures from antiquity. More than 500 plants are included. The design inspired plans for a similar herb garden in
New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...
in 1980. ;Heritage Vegetable Garden :Four beds, representing typical
vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...
s grown in the
northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...
in the 18th century, the late 19th century, World Wars I and II, and today's gardens. Such gardens are not common. The gardener in charge of it has been mentioned in newspaper columns as an expert in growing tomatoes. ;International Crop and Weed Garden :Crop plants and economically important plants from around the world, including
banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...
s,
sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...
,
coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
,
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...
,
sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...
,
cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
,
grasses Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in ...
, and
forb A forb or phorb is a herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in botany and in vegetation ecology especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically, these are eudicots without woo ...
s (non-grass plants eaten by livestock); also a collection of
weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...
s arranged in an attractive agricultural setting. ;Peony and Sun Perennial Garden :Over 90 cultivars of peonies, as well as a display of recent perennial cultivars suitable for sunny locations. ;Poisonous Plants Garden :Plants poisonous to livestock, including '' Atropa'', ''
Chelidonium ''Chelidonium'', commonly known as celandines, is a small genus of flowering plants in the Papaveraceae, poppy family, This genus is native to northern Africa and Eurasia, where they are widespread, ranging from western Europe to east Asia.
'', ''
Cicuta ''Cicuta'', commonly known as water hemlock, is a genus of four species of highly poisonous plants in the family Apiaceae. They are perennial herbaceous plants which grow up to tall, having distinctive small green or white flowers arranged in a ...
'', ''
Digitalis ''Digitalis'' ( or ) is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs, and Biennial plant, biennials, commonly called foxgloves. ''Digitalis'' is native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwestern Africa. The flowers are ...
'', ''
Lobelia ''Lobelia'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae comprising 415 species, with a subcosmopolitan distribution primarily in tropical to warm temperate regions of the world, a few species extending into cooler temperate r ...
'', ''
Phytolacca ''Phytolacca'' is a genus of perennial plants native to North America, South America and East Asia. Some members of the genus are known as pokeweeds or similar names such as pokebush, pokeberry, pokeroot or poke sallet. Other names for species ...
'', and ''
Rheum Rheum (; from Greek language, Greek: wikt:ῥεῦμα, ῥεῦμα ''rheuma'' 'a flowing, rheum') is a thin mucus naturally discharged from the eyes, nose, or mouth, often during sleep (contrast with mucopurulent discharge).Amodio, Aime"Where ...
''. (Although ''
Cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
'' was included in the garden for many years, it was removed by the early 1970s.) ;Rhododendron and Woodland Perennial Garden :Hundreds of
rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...
s and
azalea Azaleas ( ) are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Rhododendron sect. Tsutsusi, Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and ''Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate ...
s, set among white
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
s,
fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...
s,
hosta ''Hosta'' (, synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Funkia'') is a genus of plants commonly known as hostas, plantain lilies and occasionally by the Japanese name gibōshi. Hostas are widely cultivated as shade-tolerant foliage plants. The genus is placed ...
s, etc. ;Rock Garden :Rock garden, including ''
Aethionema ''Aethionema'' is a genus of flowering plants within the family Brassicaceae. They are known as stonecresses. Stonecresses originate from sunny limestone mountainsides in Europe and West Asia, especially Turkey. ''Aethionema'' have typically pe ...
'', '' Arenaria'', '' Aubrieta'', '' Cymbalaria'', ''
Dianthus ''Dianthus'' ( ) is a genus of about 340 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species in north Africa and in southern Africa, and one species (''D. repens'') in arctic North Am ...
'', ''
Erigeron ''Erigeron'' () is a large genus of plants in the composite family (Asteraceae). It is placed in the tribe Astereae and is closely related to the Old World asters (''Aster (genus), Aster'') and the true daisies (''Bellis''). The genus has a cosm ...
'', ''
Globularia ''Globularia'' is a genus of about 22 species of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Plantaginaceae, native plant, native to central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. They are dense low evergreen ...
'', '' Houstonia'', '' Leiophyllum'', ''
Linaria ''Linaria'' is a genus of almost 200 species of flowering plants, one of several related groups commonly called toadflax. They are annuals and herbaceous perennials, and the largest genus in the Antirrhineae tribe of the plantain family Plant ...
'', ''
Penstemon ''Penstemon'' , the beardtongues, is a large genus of roughly 280 species of flowering plants native to North America from northern Canada to Central America. It is the largest genus of flowering plants endemic to North America. As well as bein ...
'', '' Pulsatilla'', ''
Sedum ''Sedum'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, members of which are commonly known as stonecrops. The genus has been described as containing up to 600 species, subsequently reduced to 400–500. They are leaf succule ...
'', ''
Silene ''Silene'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. Containing nearly 900 species, it is the largest genus in the family. Common names include campion and catchfly. Many ''Silene'' species are widely distributed, particularl ...
'', '' Hebe'', etc. ;Wildflower Garden :
Wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, rather than being intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is any different from the native plant, eve ...
s including skunk cabbage, trout lily, marsh marigold, and
trillium ''Trillium'' (trillium, wakerobin, toadshade, tri flower, birthroot, birthwort, and sometimes "wood lily") is a genus of about fifty flowering plant species in the family Melanthiaceae. ''Trillium'' species are native to temperate regions of No ...
. ;Winter Garden :Plants interesting in all seasons, including
dogwood ''Cornus'' is a genus of about 30–60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods or cornels, which can generally be distinguished by their blossoms, berries, and distinctive bark. Most are deciduous ...
,
willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...
,
birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...
, hawthorn, and dwarf to midsize
conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...
s. ;Woodland Streamside Garden :A boardwalk through a
bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...
gy areas including royal
fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...
s, blue and yellow flag iris, and Japanese primrose.


Nature areas

In addition to the gardens and arboretum, Cornell Botanic Gardens also manages an additional of biologically diverse natural areas, including
bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...
s,
fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...
s, gorges,
glen A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. The word is Goidelic in origin: ''gleann'' in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, ''glion'' in Manx. ...
s,
meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...
s, and
woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...
s. These areas contain some of walking trails. * Bald Hill – Mountain laurel (''Kalmia latifolia'') is abundant in this area. * Beebe Lake and Woods – In 1828, to capture the waterpower of Fall Creek, Ezra Cornell help construct Beebe Dam on Fall Creek. The dam and Lake have since been upgraded. * Bluegrass Lane Natural Areas – located near the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course. * Brooktondale Meadow * Carter Creek Preserve – of woodlands about southwest of Cornell. * Cascadilla Gorge – a gorge formed as Cascadilla Creek drops from the campus to downtown Ithaca, with a walking trail and many waterfalls. * Cascadilla Meadows – Cascadilla Creek was channelized when the Wilson Lab was constructed in this meadow flood plain. * Cayuga Marsh – a low-lying wetland of
cattails ''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrushStreeter D, Hart-Davies C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. ...
(''Typha latifolia'') at the north end of Lake Cayuga. * Cayuga Lake – on northeast shore. * Etna Fringed Gentian Area * Fall Creek Valley North * Fall Creek Valley South * Fischer Old-Growth Forest – a preserve containing rare examples of yellow oak (''Quercus muehlenbergii''). * Hertel Bowl * Lick Brook * Lighthouse Point – a biological station located a bit over from campus on the eastern shore of Lake Cayuga. * McDaniel Meadow, Woods and Swamp – former farm about north of campus. * McGowan Woods and Meadow * McLean Bogs a
National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best e ...
containing two small kettle bogs located in Dryden,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. * Mitchell Street Natural Areas – examples of abandoned agricultural land. * Monkey Run * Mount Pleasant * Mundy Wildflower Garden * North Campus Natural Areas * Park Park – Forest Home Drive near New York Route 366 * Polson Natural Area * Purvis Road Natural Areas – * Renwick Slope * Slaterville 600 – that includes the Slaterville Wildflower Preserve and old growth forest, given to the university by the Lloyd Library and Museum under condition that it remain forever wild. * Slim Jim Woods – borders the arboretum. * Steep Hollow Creek * The Tarr-Young Preserve * Turkey Hill Road Meadow * Upper Cascadilla * Warren Woods –


Academic role

Typically the Plantations' Director has been funded as a professor of Horticulture in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, although 85 percent of the Plantations' budget has come from gifts. The Botanic Gardens continue to grow as it receives donations of environmentally sensitive land throughout New York State. , the Plantations had a $2.9 million annual operating budget. In conjunction with the Department of Horticulture in the College of Agriculture, the Plantations has sponsored a Graduate Fellowship in Public Garden Leadership, where students earn a Master of Professional Studies degree after a four-semester program. The program of study requires an internship, selection of a particular topic of interest, and completion of an action project. Numerous scientific papers have been published that relate to work done at the Plantations or written by academics affiliated with the Plantations. This includes a number of master's theses and Ph.D. dissertations done by students. Students from local schools and
4-H Club 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times ...
s have also made use of the Plantations, as have
master gardener Master Gardener programs (also known as Extension Master Gardener Programs) are Volunteering, volunteer programs that train individuals in the science and Landscape design, art of gardening. These individuals pass on the information they learned ...
s. The Plantations offers three courses for academic credit and a number of informal lectures and tours. Lab work is done at the Plantations by students taking other courses in various subjects, including geology courses in the interdisciplinary Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Indeed, the greater Plantations has a connection of some kind to over a hundred courses at Cornell. As one description stated, academic departments or individuals using the Plantations have included "geologists, archaeologists, physiologists, horticulturalists, artists, architects, and engineers." The Plantations' Director has also been responsible for summer session courses at the Plantations aimed towards alumni and horticultural enthusiasts. The Botanic Gardens operate side-by-side with Cornell's other programs. Cornell's academic buildings, which are owned by either the university or New York State (for
statutory college In the United States, a statutory college or contract college is a higher education college or school that is a component of an independent, private university that has been designated by the State legislature (United States), state legislature to ...
buildings), are on a landscaped campus with Plantations' gardens interspersed among them; the Plantations maintains four such gardens on Cornell's central campus. In addition, the College of Agriculture operates the Arnot Woods as a teaching forest, about southwest of Ithaca; it was given to the university in 1927. Near the Plantations, the College operates the Dilmun Hill Student Farm, which practices sustainable agriculture. The College operates Campus Area Farms that comprise 11 different farms and on campus and nearby. The difference between the Plantations and these other adjacent properties is that the Plantations are open to the public and are designed for both instruction as well as leisure, while the other properties are closed to the general public and focused upon teaching and research. Aside from physical proximity, the Plantations has affiliations with a number of Cornell academic departments. In fact, during the latter part of the 20th century, public gardens attached to colleges and universities such as the Plantations became a popular trend, due to the beneficial effects they had on campus unity and recruitment of students, creating bonds with and outreach to the local community, and providing a basis for ongoing research as well as establishing a living museum. The Plantations earned a relatively brief mention as a campus diversion in the 112-page ''Cornell Desk Book'' publication of 1972 aimed at incoming students. ''
The Cornell Daily Sun ''The Cornell Daily Sun'' is an independent newspaper at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. It is published twice weekly by Cornell University students and hired employees. Founded in 1880, ''The Sun'' is the oldest continuously independent ...
'' listed it in 2010 as one of the natural wonders of the Cornell and Ithaca areas that students frequently went past, or lived near to, without noticing. A 1973 survey of public arboreta by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' listed the Plantations as one of the 17 best in the Eastern U.S. for educational value. The same paper characterized the Robison Herb Garden as "a student's living reference library" when it opened in 1974. The 200-page volume ''The Cornell Plantations'', written by Ralph S. Hosmer, was published by the university in 1947, shortly after the gardens were so named. A film ''Cornell Plantations'' was made during 1974–1975 and shown on
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
in Connecticut and elsewhere. In 1987, the Plantations released a
VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...
video entitled ''A Year in the Garden'', which showed seasonal changes in the F. R. Newman Arboretum and along the trails. ''The New York Times'' called the effort "thin" and best suited for Cornell alumni. The university published the volume ''Cornell Plantations Path Guide: The Gardens, Gorges, Landscapes, and Lore of Cornell'' in 1995, and a 172-page second edition was published with a slightly altered title in 2002. Working with the Newman's Own Foundation and the Center for Plant Conservation, the Plantations are trying to restore the regional population of the American globeflower (''Trollius laxus''). The Plantations are trying to use predatory beetles (''Laricobius nigrinus'') to control the spread of the hemlock wooly adelgid (HWA).


Events and visiting

The Plantations are open daily without charge from dawn to dusk. From the campus, one walks out Forest Home Drive past the College of Agriculture quadrangle; the nearest highway is New York State Route 366. Walk-up tours are offered twice a week. Adult volunteers also serve as stewards, tour guides and special event staff. Such docents are challenged by the large variety of plants; one joked in 2010 that, "The ones I don’t know the name of, I call ''Species Nocluesem''." ''The New York Times'' has recommended Cornell Plantations as a place to visit several times, calling it "a satisfying experience" in 1965, one of the sights of Cornell in 1979, a destination along a bicycling tour in 1985, "another free diversion" in 1989, and "one last outing before leaving thaca in 2002. ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' recommended the Plantations in 2000 as a "free to the public museum of living plants". In 2007, '' The Ithaca Journal'' referred to it as "one of the area's gems" and three years later said it "combines the best of walking with the eye appeal of well tended gardens". ''
The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, th ...
'' portrayed the Plantations in 2010 as one of the places that made Cornell worth a vacation for non-students. ''
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
'''s 1998 guide to the 300 best public gardens in North America has an entry for the Plantations. The
American Automobile Association American Automobile Association (AAA) is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 million members in the United States and Cana ...
's New York TourBook lists the Plantations as one of five arboreta and sixty gardens in the state; it does not get the "GEM" rating that one of the arboreta and ten of the gardens receive.
Fodor's Fodor's is a producer of English-language travel guides and online tourism information. It was founded by Hungarian Eugene Fodor, who created his first travel guide, ''1936...on the Continent'', with the intention of improving upon the directo ...
travel book for New York State lists the Plantations as an ordinary entry and says the gardens have "interesting cold-weather colors and textures". The Moon Handbooks volume for the state also lists it as a regular entry, without much commentary, as does the Great Destinations series ''The Finger Lakes Book''. The Fun with the Family ''Upstate New York'' volume groups it with several other sights as "a real bargain" to explore for free. Most enthusiastic is the
Frommer's Frommer's () is a travel guide book series created by Arthur Frommer in 1957. Frommer's has since expanded to include more than 350 guidebooks in 14 series, as well as other media including an eponymous radio show and a website. In 2017, the com ...
travel guide for New York State, which rates the Plantations as a one-star ("highly recommended") sight, saying the Plantations is "a real find and well worth a visit for garden lovers or anyone seeking a bit of solace." The herb garden and knoll of rhododendrons come in for particular praise. The Plantations provide a venue for a number of annual activities, including a "Fall In" festival, a celebration of Arbor Day and the Cornell Reunion 5 Mile Run. The Plantations is one of eight cultural and educational sites on the Ithaca Discovery Trail network. The Friends of the Gorges is a Cornell student organization, supported by Cornell Plantations, that performs trail repair and maintenance and clean-ups.


See also

*
List of botanical gardens in the United States This list is intended to include all significant botanical gardens and arboretums in the United States.North American Plant Collections Consortium


References

;Citations ;General references for the lists in the "Current extent" section
F.R. Newman ArboretumBotanical GardenOur Natural Areas


External links


Cornell Botanic Gardens

2009 Plantations Annual Report
{{Coord, 42, 26, 58, N, 76, 28, 20, W, type:landmark_region:US-NY, display=title Arboreta in New York (state) Botanical gardens in New York (state)
Plantations Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tobacco ...
Herbaria in the United States Parks in Tompkins County, New York Protected areas of Tompkins County, New York Tourist attractions in Ithaca, New York Civilian Conservation Corps in New York (state) 1875 establishments in New York (state) Protected areas established in 1875