Kyra Kaiser always dreaded public speaking growing up.  So you might not expect that she would end up as one of UW Botanic Gardens’ most enthusiastic tour guides at the Washington Park Arboretum, leading groups of visitors into the secret places of that 230 acre forested gem inside the City of Seattle.
Kaiser, a second year student at UW who intends to major in plant biology, leads free weekend walks at the Arboretum, a tour program with a broad focus that changes monthly according to the season and route taken. 

A tribute to our late Director, Dr. Sarah Reichard.  May she forever garden in peace amongst a grove of Stewartia, her favorite tree.
[Editor’s Note: If you have time to experience their true beauty, it is highly recommended you visit our Stewartia Collection. The smart phone version of our interactive map can be used to pin-point specific locations and information for mature specimens of the species listed below. 

 
“I was amazed to learn that the Ginkgo biloba tree, which is thousands of years old but extinct in the wild, was saved by Buddhist monks who planted this tree in their monasteries so the species would live on!”
“We thought we would only hear the Latin names of a multitude of obscure plants,” she said, “but instead we heard amazing stories of survival and cooperation in nature.”
 
 
 
These were just two of the observations made by freshman and sophomore students who took one of the free guided tours at the Washington Park Arboretum.  

Jean Witt, long time friend of the UW Botanic Gardens, passed away last week at age 95.  She was the widow of Joe Witt, the former Arboretum Curator and Professor of Urban Horticulture and for whom the Joseph A. Witt Winter Garden is named.  Together, they were well known for their joint leadership in field study trips of Washington native flora and geology (Jean’s specialty).  

The deep pink flowers of Rosa corymbulosa (Chinese species rose) are followed by elongated coral-red fruit in late summer.

1)  Clerodendrum bungei

C. bungei is a deciduous, suckering shrub producing upright shoots and opposite, ovate, toothed, dark green leaves tinged with purple when young.  Salverform, fragrant, dark pink flowers, each with five spreading lobes, are borne in rounded, terminal panicles from late summer to autumn.  Native to China and a member of the family Lamiaceae, this specimen is happily spreading around the south side of bed ‘G’ on Azalea Way. 

The University of Washington Botanic Gardens is home to truly one of a kind plants.  In botanical nomenclature, a monotypic genus refers to the case where a genus and only a single species are described.  These plants are often “living fossils”, comprising the last living remnant of ancient lineages.  Many are also often in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 

1)  Colutea orientalis                Bladder Senna

This deciduous native of northern Iran has delicate bluish-green pinnate leaves.
The orange flowers are followed by surprising translucent bladder-like fruit pods.
You can find Colutea orientalis in the Legume Collection along Arboretum Drive.

2)  Hydrangea macrophylla  ‘Mme. Emile Mouillere’ Bigleaf Hydrangea

Hydrangea macrophylla is native to Japan.
This cultivar is an example of the Hortensia group – having mophead flowers. 

1)  Cunninghamia lanceolata                (Chinese Fir)

Bluish evergreen foliage contrasts nicely with its scaly bark.
This evergreen tree from China is an important timber tree in its native area.
In 1701, James Cunningham (one of the first European plant hunters to visit China) described and collected this tree.

2)  Hydrangea integrifolia                                                      (Evergreen Climbing Hydrangea)

A vigorous, evergreen vine climbing to over 40 feet, on the trunk of a mature Douglas Fir. 

Don’t miss the New Zealand Flax now in full bloom in Pacific Connections.