Eastern North America
Just like the geographical region it represents, this collection undergoes four very distinct seasons. It offers a surprising range of experiences year-round, from cool refuge on a hot day to gorgeous fall color.
Whether it’s the beautiful flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) from North Carolina with a profusion of white flowers each spring, or the nearby tall white pine (Pinus strobus) from Michigan, these plants are iconic reminders of an eastern North American plant heritage.
Regions and history
Spanning nearly an acre, this collection was developed in the late 1970s and contains three distinct plant communities that occur east of the Mississippi, from the Canadian provinces through the Gulf states. They represent mixed coniferous-deciduous forest communities, meadows, and prairies and, to our knowledge, this botanical display is unique to the West Coast.
Collection Highlights
Before trees leaf out in the spring, many understory species take advantage of high light levels reaching the forest floor. These spectacular floral displays include carpets of Trillium, Erythronium and Tiarella. Shrubs such as Rhododendron, witch hazel (Hamamelis), and mountain laurel (Kalmia) also flower at this time.
As summer moves into fall, this area is filled with a spectacular floral display. Along the paved road, look for towering, sweetscented joe pye-weed (Eutrochium purpureum), or the bright purple shades of New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae). If it’s a warm day, enjoy a stroll along the shady paths that meander through the area with a variety of flowers blooming in the dappled sunlight peeking through the trees overhead.
The diversity of flora here is impressive for such a small space, with more than 500 species represented. The collection is particularly rich in the daisy family (Asteraceae) and has been used by researchers to conduct genetic analyses of genera. This research intends to resolve evolutionary relationships between species in a similar way to how we study human ancestors.
Banner: Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)