Best known for it’s papery bark, Acer griseum is one of the most beloved landscape trees here in the Pacific Northwest.

UWBG professor, Soo-Hyung Kim, just published a paper in PLoS ONE that describes his study of the impact future climate change may have on the bloom dates of flowering cherries. The authors,  including Uran Chung, Liz Mack, Jin I. Yun, studied the cherry trees in Tidal Basin, Washington DC and the timing of the annual cherry festival. The cherry tree cultivars studied, Yoshino and Kwanzan, are the same cultivars growing on the UW campus campus (Quad: Yoshino, Rainer vista: Kwanzan). 

1) Callicarpa japonica   (Japanese beautyberry)

Native to Japan, the small metallic purple berries of this multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub are
best viewed when the leaves have dropped beginning mid-to-late fall.
The berries are an important survival food for birds and other animals.
Beautyberry is just beginning to reflect its true glory in the Winter Garden.

2) Daphniphyllum macropodum

It is one of the most handsome evergreens for foliage effects. 

Twenty-five volunteers, agency partners and Rare Care staff gathered in Klickitat County in mid-June to monitor rare plants.

Bioblitz 2011 has come and gone, and like last year I find myself still thinking about how awesome it was a week.5 after the fact.  It’s a lot to pull together and 10 days seems about right as far as decompression goes.  I can’t quite put my finger on it, but bioblitzes tap into so many different fibers of my genetic memory.  

With a little over a week away from Bioblitz 2011, the various taxa teams are starting to form, but we still need eyes, ears and hands in the field!  Below please find a new schedule of when we’ll be looking for what. To sign up and join in the fun, contact Patrick Mulligan at simsigan@uw.edu or call 206-543-8801 and talk to Lisa Sanphillipo. 

1) Arbutus unedo (Strawberry tree)

Selected cuttings from the Washington Park Arboretum (October 3 – 16, 2011)

 Evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean and southwest Ireland, specifically the islands
and shores of the Lakes of Killarney, where it attains its largest (40 ft. or more in height)
dimensions.
The flowers of A. unedo arrive late in the season, and are followed by the globose
strawberry-like fruits that are orange-red in color. 

After a nonexistent summer, we’re now charging forward and anticipating the return of rain and cooler temperatures, the shorter days, and all the fall tasks that seem to just ramp up without warning.
Autumn can be a mesmerizing time of year as many plants, particularly in the Soest Perennial Display Garden, have reached their full potential in growth and in many cases, abundant bloom. 

Another woody plant has captured our attention this month and is deserving of this autumn highlight and that’s the Crimson Glory Vine. While most grapes are fruiting now and express some fall color, this outstandingly large and colorful vine is mesmerizing to see especially when back lit by the western exposure of the sun.

So after 13 years in the same raised bed, it’s time that one of our Persian Ironwood trees (Parrotia persica) be removed and replaced with another species.
It was suggested that every ten years or so, the specimen tree would be changed out to showcase different species that could be utilized to create the part shade environment intended for the perennials planted below.