These ornamental St. John’s Worts are a departure from the aggressive species often used in slopes and roadside median strips. These new introductions have adorable flowers and fantastic berries!

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. 

Welcome back Huskies! There are so many opportunities for students to get involved at the UW Botanic Gardens.

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. 

A most unusual, but easy to grow annual known as the African Daisy.

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.