1)   Edgeworthia chrysantha                          Paperbush

Native to China, the inner bark of this plant may be used to make quality paper.
The silvery flower buds will open in mid-winter to very fragrant, creamy-yellowish flowers.
Edgeworthia can be found on the west side of the Graham Visitors Center in the Pacific Connections China Garden and the Witt Winter Garden.

2)   Hamamelis vernalis  ‘Christmas Cheer’                          Witch Hazel

This witch hazel is native to the Ozark Plateau. 

The annual Holiday Arts and Crafts sale in the Miller Library opens December 6th. This year we’ll have hand-knit items, kitchen wares with botanical flare, dramatic necklaces and more.

1)   Callicarpa sp.                          Beautyberry

The small, attractive metallic and purple berries give this ornamental shrub its common name.
The berries stay on the plant late into winter and are an important food source for wildlife.
This popular landscape plant provides a splash of color as fall sets in.
This and other Callicarpa can be seen from Arboretum Drive in our nursery. 

1)   Picea orientalis                            Oriental Spruce

This popular ornamental spruce can grow up to 150 feet and is native to the Caucasus Mountains and northern Asia Minor.
This species is prized for its gracefully pendulous foliage and for the young cones which are deep purple.
A grove of these trees can be found on the northeast side of the Pinetum.

2)   Picea morrisonicola                          Taiwan Spruce

Endemic to the mountains of Taiwan, this spruce has slender, delicate shoots. 

Over the summer, my fellow intern, Maya Kahn-Abrams, and I monitored twelve species of alpine plants in Olympic and Mount Rainier National Parks. These plants were chosen from a list developed by botanists from each park to describe current status and collect long-term data to develop strategies for adaption to climate change. These species are generally tracked by the Washington Natural Heritage Program, while a majority of them are endemic to Washington State. 

This year the Rare Plant Care Internship worked with the National Park Service on a project focused on establishing long term monitoring plots in alpine and subalpine ecosystems in Washington state National Parks (Olympic Mountains, Mt. Rainier (Tahoma), and North Cascades). This monitoring programs seeks to understand the effects of climate change on vulnerable alpine/subalpine communities as a whole and rare and largely endemic species in particular. 

Over the years, numerous memorials have been developed in the Arboretum, and several plant collections memorialize individuals. The following are some memorials, and a nearby plant.
1)   Camellia japonica  ‘Oridono-nishiki’                          Foxworthy Benches

This memorial, composed of three benches in memory of Mary Hughes Foxworthy, was installed in 1961 along the trail traversing Rhododendron Glen above the Lookout Gazebo.
There are thousands of cultivars of Camellia japonica in cultivation, with many different colors and forms of flowers. 

The John A. Wott Botanic Gardens Endowed Student Award was awarded this spring to Kyra Matin, a second-year Master of Environmental Horticulture student at the University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest Sciences.
As part of her masters project, Kyra is working on several aspects of the New Zealand Forest display in the Pacific Connections Garden at the Washington Park Arboretum. 

1)  Castanea dentata                          American Chestnut

The American Chestnut, once an important and substantial member of the East Coast hardwood forests, is now all but extinct in the wild due to the chestnut blight that likely arrived from Japan in the 1890s.
Chestnuts are sweet and edible, though hidden inside a prickly burr.
Blight resistant cultivars are still being developed in order to bring back this majestic tree. 

1)   Lagerstroemia indica ‘Muskogee’                          Crapemyrtle

Crapemyrtles are beautiful late summer flowering trees with attractive mottled and smooth bark.
This genus has long been popular in southern gardens and is gaining popularity in our urban environment.
This tree can be enjoyed a short walk down Azalea Way from the Graham Visitors Center.

2)   Leptospermum lanigerum                          Wooly Tea-Tree

This common Australian small tree or bush can be found in our Australian collections near the southern end of Arboretum Drive.