Boughs used as winter decoration are often from plants in the genus Ilex. Many Ilex, or holly species are dioecious, meaning that male and female reproductive organs are separated on individual plants. This trait promotes cross-fertilization which increases genetic variability, but can decrease seed-setting efficiency.  Solitary individuals are unable to be pollinated, therefore it is necessary that male and female plants grow in close proximity or female plants will not produce berries. 

By John A. Wott, Director Emeritus
It is said that humans “have a habit of growing.” We grow tall in our formative years, and most of us also grow wider in the later years. We could also say that trees have a habit of growing. Tree species grow to specific heights and widths. Some smaller trees obtain their normal mature size in a few years, while the larger species may grow for years and years. 

Conifer trees occasionally mutate into unusual forms, often slow-growing natural dwarfs. Thousands of these have been in cultivation for centuries. The Arboretum has only a few in its collection, sadly neglected in grid 37-1W – a corner of the Oaks area.  Here are five examples:
1)  Chamaecyparis lawsoniana  ‘Lycopodioides’

Translated: “a form of Lawson’s false cypress that looks like Lycopodium” – a genus of club moss that’s said to resemble a wolf’s foot. 

Tuesdays, 4:30-5:20 at the UW Botany Greenhouse

Professor Jennifer Ruesink is leading a one-credit Agro-ecology Reading Group in Winter 2016. This will be a weekly seminar in which students/staff/faculty read and discuss articles covering various aspects of agroecology.

Agroecology represents the interaction of farming with the environment, in which “environment” can be variously defined in terms of how much of the human environment is included. 

(A letter from Academic Advisor, Joe Kobayashi). 
The UW is a great place for food studies: from growing food at the UW Farm to studying food issues related to society, the natural environment, the built environment, and human health. Now a committee of faculty from the College of Built Environments, the College of the Environment, and the College of Arts and Sciences are in the process of developing a proposal for a new Interdisciplinary Food Studies Minor, and we need your help. 

Traditionally, this plant’s stems were used to make spindles to twine wool and flax into yarn. Learn more about this month’s featured plant.

By John A. Wott, Director Emeritus
One of the four primary forest trees of the Pacific Northwest is Thuja plicata, or the Western red cedar. There are “giants” of this species still growing after hundreds of years in protected sites in this state, but most were logged in great quantities as the lumber mills in the Pacific Northwest grew. The Washington Park Arboretum land, originally owned by the Pope Lumber company, was logged in the late 1880s and then basically clear cut of any remaining harvestable trees a few years later. 

1)  Arctostaphylus uva-ursi                                                   ‘Vancouver Jade’            Kinnikinnick or Bearberry

Broadleaf evergreen and creeping groundcover with circumpolar distribution in northern hemisphere often found growing in association with Pitch Pine
If there were still bears on Cape Cod, it would be a favorite food source for them.
This cultivar, ‘Vancouver Jade’ is growing in containers outside the Graham Visitor Center.

2)  Juniperus virginiana  ‘Blue Coast’                               Eastern Red Cedar

A low growing, blue form of the Eastern Red Cedar
Pioneer species found in mixed stands with Pitch Pine, reclaiming abandoned farms and grasslands
Found growing under Pines in grid 36-4E, along nursery road

3)  Morella pensylvanica                Bayberry

Berries boiled to extract sweet-smelling wax used to make clean-burning candles
Found growing in dry open sites along with Bearberry, Eastern Red Cedar and Pitch Pine
Mass growing in Oaks Collection in grid 43-B

4)  Pinus rigida                Pitch Pine

Rigid cone scales and stiff needles, hence its Latin specific epithet
Used during days of wooden ships due to its resistance to decay
Several young specimens in our Pinetum, grid 37-4W

5)  Viburnum dentatum var. 

Don’t get stuck inside all winter. Get outside and explore our senses and learn a little bit about winter, trees, and even decomposers in our Winter Family Nature Classes.

The Community Gardening Leadership Training is seeking four new farm/garden apprentices to join them on Whidbey Island for the 2016 growing season!
The Community Gardening Leadership Training gives motivated individuals the skills and experience needed to lead community farms and gardens. The training nourishes a vital local food system by providing fresh produce, volunteer opportunities, and education to the community through our food bank, school district, and non-profit growing programs.