Although Dr. John A. Wott, retired Professor Emeritus, Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington and former Washington Park Arboretum Director, recently passed at the age of 82, his work and his plants continue on at the Arboretum. His garden was full of rare, unusual, and fascinating plants and these are a few of the plants that were donated to the Arboretum by Dr. Wott.
1) Cupressus vietnamensis Golden Vietnam Cypress
This species is endemic to Vietnam, found only in the karst limestone mountains of the Hà Giang Province in northern Vietnam at elevations of 3,400 to 3,800 feet (1,060 – 1,180 meters).
It is a critically endangered species, and only a few semi-mature and coppiced trees survive.
The mature trees carry both needle leaves and a scale-like form, which are usually found only in juvenile individuals.
This tree can be found in the Pinetum, on the trail just south of the Wilcox footbridge.
Ryan Garrison
Cupressus_vietnamensis
2) Drimys winteri var. chilensis Winter’s Bark
This large, upright evergreen shrub or tree is native to the Magellanic and Valdivian temperate rain forests of Chile and Argentina, where it is a dominant tree in the coastal evergreen forests. The plant is renowned for its ecological plasticity, being able to grow in different sites from extremely arid zones to wetlands in its native range.
It has long leathery dark-green leaves with a striking silvery-pale blue underside.
The flowers are fragrant and are white with a yellow center, hosting a great number of petals and stamens.
Both bark and leaves are aromatic. The bark is gray, thick and soft and is used as a pepper replacement in Argentina and Chile.
This shrub can be found along the Arboretum Loop Trail, just north of the Chilean hillside.
Ryan Garrison
Drimys winteri var. chilensis
3) Edgeworthia chrysantha Paperbush
The Paperbush plant is native to southwestern China, Nepal, and Japan.
The bark fibers of this plant are used for making the handmade Japanese tissue called “mitsumata paper”.
The Paperbush provides superb winter interest and fragrance with a flowering period that extends from February to April. The yellow fragrant flowers are the source of its specific epithet: the Greek “chrysos” meaning golden and ‘anthos’ meaning flower.
