John Wott tells the story of the sweet friendship between Captain Moen of the Puget Sound Beekeepers Association and the Washington Park Arboretum. Stop by the Graham Visitor Center gift shop to purchase a jar of Arboretum Honey.

Keystone Species of New Zealand
1)   Nothofagus menziesii   (Silver Beech, Tāwhai)

Natural range: endemic to New Zealand.  Found throughout South Island.
Trunk is silvery-gray and has horizontal lines (lenticels).
Dark-green, oval leaves are glossy and have toothed edges.
Largest specimen was transplanted in Autumn 2012 with help from a very large crane.

2)   Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides (Mountain Beech, Tawhairauriki)

Deep green, oval leaves have a pointed tip and rolled edges. 

The outdoor preschool at the Washington Park Arboretum aims to counteract “nature deficit disorder.”

On November 21, 1993, which was a rainy blustery Sunday afternoon, we dedicated “The New Zealand High Country”, the first Arboretum garden of New Zealand natives.

Recent test results from Washington State University Puyallup Plant & Insect Diagnostic Laboratory confirmed the first case of Dutch Elm Disease (DED) in the core area of the Washington Park Arboretum.  The tree, a 45 year old Guernsey Elm (Ulmus minor ‘Sarniensis’), had been suffering from mechanical injury to the root crown and annual infestations of the Elm Leafminer, an insect that that feeds on elm leaves.  

Cornucopia
1)  Betulaceae          Carpinus japonica, Corylus colurna, Ostrya carpinifolia

Nut-bearing, often enclosed in interesting husks, cones or bracts.

2)  Fabaceae            Colutea orientalis

Legumes, which are dry fruit in pods that dehisce (open along a seam).

3)  Gunneraceae         Gunnera manicata

The fruit-bearing conical spike can reach 6 feet in length.

4)  Magnoliaceae        Magnolia grandiflora, M. officinalis var. biloba, M. sieboldii

Cone-like fruits, from green to red, open to display bright orange seeds. 

1)    Aralia elata (Japanese Angelica Tree)

Natural range: Japan, Korea, Russian Far East
Can be a tree more than 30 feet tall. Ours are multiple suckers from a spreading root system.
Located north of the Wilcox footbridge (40-3W).

2)   Bupleurum fruticosum

A dense, multi-stemmed shrub tolerant of exposure and poor soil.
Native to Southern Europe and the Mediterranean.
Located in our Rock Rose area west of the Sorbus Collection (21-3E). 

After a year of surveying Washington Park Arboretum grid points and digitizing paper maps we have made substantial progress on our georeferenced database project. See photos and a video of Botanic Gardens Director Sarah Reichard.

“Can You Smell That Smell?”
1)   Clerodendrum trichotomum (Peanut-Butter Tree)

Repugnant, peanut-butter odor when leaves are bruised!
Cats are attracted to the smell.
See our suckering forest of young trees along the path leading down to the WPA horticultural crew barn.

2)   Prostanthera cuneata      (Alpine Mint-Bush)

This low-growing shrub is from Australia and is in the Mint family.
When leaves are crushed, they emit a strong fragrance that some liken to eucalyptol and smelly socks. 

In the midst of our dry NW summer, while many plants look worse for wear, our native evergreen Salal shrubs, Gaultheria shallon, are shiny and healthy. Salal flowers in the spring with pinkish-white bell-shaped flowers in groups of 5-15 on racemes; very similar to the Pieris japonica flower. Both plants are in the Ericacea family. The Salal shrub can grown to 16′ tall and forms a dense mass that creates habitat and food for local birds and animals.