University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
(37 ha / 92 acres) is the official
arboretum
An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...
of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
The Arboretum was formerly the estate of John T. (1847-1915) and Lydia T. Morris (1849-1932), a brother and sister who purchased and landscaped much of the arboretum's current site beginning in 1887. John Morris was interested in growing plants from around the world, including those collected in China by E. H. Wilson around 1900, and many of today's specimens date to Morris' original plantings. The estate became a public arboretum in 1933, after Lydia Morris' death. ''Note:'' This includes
Collection
Today the arboretum contains more than 11,000 labelled plants of over 2,500 taxa, representing the temperate floras of
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
,
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
, and
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. Significant collections include native
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,
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 ...
magnolia
''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...
species,
maple
''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...
s,
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 ...
s, and witch-hazels. The arboretum has identified 15 trees in its collection as outstanding specimens: ''
Abies cephalonica
''Abies cephalonica'', commonly known as Greek fir or Cephalonian Fir, is a fir native to the mountains of Greece, primarily in the Peloponnesos and the island of Kefallonia, intergrading with the closely related Bulgarian fir further north i ...
'', ''
Abies holophylla
''Abies holophylla'', also called needle fir or Manchurian fir, is a species of fir native to mountainous regions of northern Korea, southern Ussuriland, and China in the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning.
It is an evergreen conif ...
Aesculus flava
''Aesculus flava'', also known commonly as the common buckeye, the sweet buckeye, and the yellow buckeye, is a species of deciduous tree in the subfamily Hippocastanoideae of the family Sapindaceae. The species is native to the Ohio Valley and ...
Cercidiphyllum japonicum
''Cercidiphyllum japonicum'', known as the Katsura (from its Japanese name カツラ, 桂), is a species of flowering tree in the family Cercidiphyllaceae native to China and Japan. It is sometimes called ''caramel tree'' for the light caramel sm ...
'', ''
Fagus sylvatica
''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech, is a large, graceful deciduous tree in the Fagaceae, beech family with smooth silvery-gray bark, large leaf area, and a short trunk with low branches.
Description
''Fagus sylvatica'' i ...
'' f. ''pendula'', ''
Metasequoia glyptostroboides
''Metasequoia glyptostroboides'', the dawn redwood, is a fast-growing, endangered deciduous pinophyta, conifer. It is the sole living species of the genus ''Metasequoia'', one of three genera in the subfamily Sequoioideae of the family (botany), ...
'', ''
Pinus bungeana
''Pinus bungeana'' (; Japanese: シロマツ; ), also known by the common names Bunge's pine, lacebark pine and white-barked pine, is a pine tree native to northeastern and central China. It is a slow-growing tree that can grow to heights of ...
'', ''
Platanus × hispanica
The London plane, or sometimes hybrid plane, ''Platanus'' × ''hispanica'', is a tree in the genus ''Platanus''. It is often known by the synonym ''Platanus'' × ''acerifolia'', a later name. It is a hybrid of '' Platanus orientalis'' ...
'', ''
Quercus alba
''Quercus alba'', the white oak, is one of the preeminent hardwoods of eastern and central North America. It is a long-lived oak, native to eastern and central North America and found from Minnesota, Ontario, Quebec, and southern Maine south as ...
'', ''
Tsuga canadensis
''Tsuga canadensis'', also known as eastern hemlock, eastern hemlock-spruce, or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as ''pruche du Canada'', is a Pinophyta, coniferous tree native plant, native to eastern North America. ...
Ulmus parvifolia
''Ulmus parvifolia'', commonly known as the Chinese elm or lacebark elm, is a species native to eastern Asia, including China, India, Japan, Korea, Vietnam,Fu, L., Xin, Y. & Whittemore, A. (2002)Ulmaceae in Wu, Z. & Raven, P. (eds) ''Flora of Chi ...
'', and ''
Zelkova serrata
''Zelkova serrata'' (Japanese zelkova, Japanese elm, keyaki, or keaki; or ; zh, s=榉树, t=櫸樹, p=jǔshù; ) is a species of the genus ''Zelkova'' native plant, native to Japan, Korea, eastern China and Taiwan.Flora of China''Zelkova serr ...
''.
Features
The arboretum is set within a fine, mature landscape, primarily designed in the English park style but with Japanese influences. It includes winding paths and streams, a swan pond, formal rose gardens, and large sweeps of
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,
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
magnolia
''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...
s. Notable aspects of the arboretum are as follows:
* Compton Mansion (aka Morris House, 1887-1888, demolished 1968)
* Dawn Redwoods - Species of trees once thought to be extinct now found.
* English Park (circa 1912) - mainly planted with species collected in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, with significant collections of
maple
''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...
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 ...
s,
cherries
A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit).
Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The name ...
, and stuartias.
* Fernery (1899) - an 8-sided glass house said to be the only remaining free-standing Victorian fernery in North America. Morris "hired Japanese garden makers Kushibiki and Arai to arrange one hundred tons of local Wissahickon schist into rockery formations resembling a cave or mountain cliff accented by delicate waterfalls, a flowing stream bed, and a goldfish pond."Anne S. Cunningham, Crystal Palaces: Garden Conservatories of the United States (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Architectural Press, 2000), 49-50. He ordered his ferns from
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
experts William and John Birkenhead and botanically grouped and labelled the 523
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 ...
and 47 ''
Selaginella
''Selaginella'', also known as spikemosses or lesser clubmosses, is a genus of lycophyte. It is usually treated as the only genus in the family Selaginellaceae, with over 750 known species.
This family is distinguished from Lycopodiaceae (th ...
'' (club moss) varieties.
*
Garden railway
A garden railway or garden railroad is a model railway system set up outdoors in a garden. G Scale is the most popular scale for garden railroads, though 16 mm scale also has a following, especially in the United Kingdom. Model locomotives ...
train
A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
s and trolley cars running on 45 mm track (1¾"), and representing railroads throughout history, including freight and passenger models.
*
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...
- closed to the public; little now remains of Morris' original structure.
* Hillcrest Pavilion - Restrooms, drinking fountains, and picnic benches with Hillcrest Avenue running behind it (hence the name).
* Japanese Overlook (1912) - a hybrid of English rock garden with Japanese garden, landscaped with fudo stones, stone lanterns, and Japanese maples,
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, and smaller acid-loving plants.
* Japanese Hill and Water Garden (1905) - ''Tsukiyama-niwa'' style garden with hills, rocks,
water
Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...
,
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...
s,
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
s, paths, shrines and lanterns.
* Key Fountain - Key-Shaped decorative fountain in English Park
*
Log Cabin
A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...
- rustic log cabin with working hand-operated
water pump
A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic or pneumatic energy.
Mechanical pumps serve in a wide range of applications such ...
* Mercury Loggia and Ravine Garden (1913) - classical
loggia
In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...
housing a sculpture of "Mercury at rest", with
grotto
A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess.
Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide.
Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...
and a picturesque rock garden within the valley below.
* Meadow Parking Lot - Overflow parking lot located at bottom of the hill.
* Oak Alee - walkway lined with
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 ...
trees on both sides.
* Out on a Limb - metal walkway for close-up view of trees
* Pennock Garden - exotic flower garden with large rectangular fountain.
* Rose Garden (1888) - a
buxus
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box and boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost So ...
-edged
rose garden
A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Designs vary tremendously and roses may be displayed alongside other plants or grouped ...
in four quadrants with a fountain in the middle.
* Rock Wall Garden (1924) -
alpine plant
Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxon, taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial g ...
s on a six-foot-high wall.
*
Swan
Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...
Pond (1905) - a small lake created by digging and damming the East Brook.
*
Sculpture Garden
A sculpture garden or sculpture park is an outdoor garden or park which includes the presentation of sculpture, usually several permanently sited works in durable materials in landscaped surroundings.
A sculpture garden may be private, owned by ...
* Step Fountain - Staircase-shaped fountain in English Park
* Visitor Center & Gift Shop - Restrooms, Drinking Fountains, & light snacks for sale.
Morris Arboretum also owns Springfield Mill, which is located opposite the main entrance and not generally open to the public. The grist mill has been restored and is open for tours by request only.
Historic American Buildings Survey
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star.
Computer scientists and Mathematici ...