·arno ~aVolume 59 Number 3 1999

Arnoldia (ISSN 004-2633; USPS 8GG-100~ ispubhshed quarterly by the Arnold Arboretum ofHarvard University. Second-class postage paid atBoston, Massachusetts.

Subscriptions are $20.00 per calendar year domestic,$25.00 foreign, payable m advance Single copies ofmost issues are $5.00; the exceptions are 58/4-59/1(Metasequola After Fifty Years) and 54/4 (A Source-book of Cultmar Names), which are $10 00 Remit-tances may be made m U S dollars, by check drawnon a U.S. bank; by international money order, orby Visa or Mastercard. Send orders, remittances,change-of-address notices, and all other subscnption-related communications to Circulation Manager,Arnoldia, The Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway,Jamaica Plam, Massachusetts 02130-3500Telephone 617/524-1718, facsimile 617/524-1418,e-mail arnoldia@arnarb.harvard.edu.

Postmaster: Send address changes toArnoldia Circulation ManagerThe Arnold Arboretum125 ArborwayJamaica Plam, MA 02130-3500

Karen Madsen, EditorAndy Wmther, Designer

Editonal Committee

Phyllis AndersenEllen S BennettRobert E. CookPeter Del Tredici

Gary KollerStephen A. SpongbergKim E. Tripp

Copymght © 1999 The President and Fellows ofHarvard College

Page

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Pf~ge2 Charles Sprague Sargent and the Preserva-

tion of the Landscape of Mount Vernon or,"If Washington were here himself, hewould be on my side"Phyllis Andersen

14 Redwood Burls: Immortality UndergroundPeter Del Tredici

23 Silver Maple: A Victim of Its OwnAdaptabilityHarold Koda

32 Verdant Arches and Bowers: Artificial

Adaptations of Trees (1870)Frank J. Scott

Cover: Redwood National Forest, Eureka, California.

Inside front cover: Lmodendron tuhpifera (tulip tree)at Mount Vernon, Virginia, planted by GeorgeWashmgton. Photograph by Peter Del Tredici.

Inside back cover: Silver maple (Acer saccharinum)on the banks of the Concord River, Massachusetts.Photograph by Racz & Debreczy.

Back cover: A pecan tree (Carya illmoensis) at MountVernon, photographed by Peter Del Tredici

A bower formed by an apple tree. From Frank J. Scott,Suburban Home Grounds, 1870.

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Aquatmt of Mount Vernon by George Isham Parkyns, 1798.

View of Mount Vernon, undated, probably the 1930s.

Charles Sprague Sargent and the Preservation of theLandscape of Mount Vernon or, "If Washington werehere himself, he would be on my side"

’

Phyllis Andersen

The 1999 commemoration of the bicentennial of George Washington’s death

presents an excellent occasion to reflect on C. S. Sargent’s strong commitmentto preserve the Mount Vernon landscape and, while accepting the inevitabilityof change, to ensure that Washington’s original intent remained at the core ofrestoration efforts.

esolved: That Mr. Sargent be authorizedto direct the pruning, thinning andplanting of trees so that, as far as pos-

sible, Mount Vernon may be restored to thecondition in which George Washmgton plannedand kept it. But that no well-shaped beautifultree or flowenng shrub shall be destroyed,except where they are interfering with othergrowth, which it is more important to retain.

The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association ofthe Union, Mmutes of the Council, May 1901 1

In 1901 Charles Sprague Sargent (1841-1927),then director of the Arnold Arboretum, wasasked by the Regent of the Mount VernonLadies’ Association, Justine Van RensselaerTownsend, to give expert advice on the trees ofMount Vernon, the home of George Washing-ton. Sargent made a site visit, asked for relevanthistorical documentation (in this case a copyof the list of plants Washington ordered fromJohn Bartram in 1792), and demanded completecontrol of the plantings of the estate. Mrs.Townsend demurred. Sargent’s peremptorymanner, his evident dismay at the condition ofthe trees, and his bold recommendations forremovals and replacements intimidated theAssociation. In broadening the scope of theAssociation’s initial request, then narrowlydefined as aiding in the care of a few of

Washington’s trees, Sargent had clearly threat-

ened their mission. "There was no allusion tothe work of beautifying or adornment of anykind," wrote Mrs. Townsend of her request toSargent, "for our love of Mount Vernon and itsprecious trees forbade us to think of any changein the well known grounds of Washmgton’shome." Sargent declined the position. He musthave a "free hand" or he would take no part inthe work.The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association and

Professor Sargent reconnected ten years laterthanks to a new, more flexible Regent, HarrietComegys, and to a softening of Sargent’s view.Sargent’s participation in the preservationefforts at Mount Vernon, which continued untilhis death in 1927, has been virtually unrecog-nized, both in accounts of his career and inhistories of Mount Vernon. Preserved in thearchives of the Association is the extensive

correspondence between Sargent, Harriet

Comegys, and Harrison Dodge, the superinten-dent of Mount Vernon, from 1885 until hisdeath in 1937; these documents make it clearthat Sargent’s work was broad in scope and wentwell beyond arboricultural recommendations.The letters, notes, memos, and internal

reports trace a struggle to overcome conflictsand develop a process to preserve a site ofnational significance, a struggle remarkablysimilar to the one the landscape preservationcommunity is undergoing today as it seeks to

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Charles Sprague Sargent m a charcoal sketch by his cousm,john Smger Sargent, 1919 9

develop consensus on guidelines for preservinghistoric landscape properties. Defining histori-cal appropriateness, balancing the protection oforiginal features against the accomodation ofthe public, deciding how to replace plants ofhistoric value-all these difficult questions sur-faced during Sargent’s work at Mount Vernon.While not always resolved (compromise did notcome easily to Sargent), the issues were clearlydefined by Sargent’s straightforward proposalsfor action. The letters in the Mount Vernonarchives reveal by their personal tone the per-sonalities of the participants. Sargent, writingfrom the Arnold Arboretum or from Holm Lea,his estate in Brookline, Massachusetts, was theirascible consultant, impatient with the pace ofthe process and the ineptitude of the MountVernon work force. Harriet Comegys waspatient and thorough, an excellent negotiator inspite of suffering all manner of ailments duringher tenure as Regent. And finally there was the

sycophantic superintendent Dodge, whose needto please the ladies sometimes got in the way ofhis work on Sargent’s projects.

If Washington had lived all this time he woulduse the ax, but the ladies believe in having twobad trees instead of one good one, and theyhave permitted a ~ob lot of kings and princes tostick m blood-leaved Japanese maples andpurple beech wherever they wanted to ... theplace needs a comprehensive landscape planand the ax.

Letter from Wilhelm Miller, EditorialDepartment, Country Life m Amenca, toCharles Sprague Sargent, 28 May 1912

The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of theUnion was formed in 1853 to preserve andrestore the Virginia home of the nation’s firstpresident. Its membership was composed of onewoman from each state. The group began byraismg funds to purchase Mount Vernon fromWashington’s heirs. Regarded by many as thefirst historic preservation organization in thecountry, the Association should also be honored

Portrait of George Washmgton by Rembrandt Peale,oil on canvas, 1823.

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for its commitment, unusual for thetime, to treat the buildings and land-scape of Mount Vernon as a single unit;buildings, furniture, garden plants, andagricultural activities were to be

equally valued.Like most preservation groups, the

Association was formed around the ideaof rescue: the sagging roofs, the lawnwaist-high with weeds, the neglectedgardens. As if to reassure themselves ofthe validity of their acquisition, theearly histories of the Association and oftheir ownership of Mount Vernon arefilled with the names of the dignitariesthat visited-presidents and kings,minor European royalty, religiousleaders, heads of exotic nations-andto Sargent’s consternation each wasencouraged to plant a tree.By 1911 the Association had out-

grown the high emotion of its save-and-rescue stage and realized thatfurther work would require carefulthought and professional expertise. Atthis point the group had not refined itsmission beyond striving not to loseanything already in hand. However,the members were serious, highly orga-nized strategists, remarkably adept atraising funds for special projects, andmutually supportive. Enduring friend-ships were formed among the members;friendships that, because of geographicdistance or age differences, might have neverotherwise occurred. Like many early women’sorganizations, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Asso-ciation adhered to formal rituals and strict pro-tocols that can seem quaintly amusmg to ustoday. But this formal structure may well havedeveloped to deflect any potential criticism thatthe women of the Association were not capableof handling the serious issues before them aswell as protecting them as individual membersfrom mtrusive publicity.

You speak about compensation, a retainer, etc.Please dismiss any such sub~ect from yourmind. I consider it a great primlege and honorto be allowed to do anything in my power to

Harriet Comegys, 4th Regent of the Mount Vernon Ladies’Association from 1909 to 1927.

restore the grounds of Mount Vernon to the con-dition in which they were when Washmgtonwas alive.

Letter from Charles Sprague Sargent to HarrietComegys, Regent of the Mount Vernon Ladies’Association of the Umon, 2 October 1914

Charles Sprague Sargent became the first direc-tor of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard Univer-

sity in 1872 and held that position until hisdeath fifty-five years later. His "austere pur-pose" (to use his daughter’s phrase) was todevelop a collection of all the woody plants,both mdigenous and exotic, that could be raisedin the open air in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.The plant collection, begun in the 1870s, wasmitially gathered from North America and

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Harnson Howell Dodge, Supenntendent of Mount Vernon from1885 to 1937.

Europe but by the end of the nineteenth centurySargent’s collection policy had expanded toinclude the entire North Temperate Zone, withemphasis on China and Japan. The metamor-phosis of this small scientific station into one ofthe world’s leading study centers for woodyplants was due to the expansiveness of Sargent’svision and the smgle-mindedness with which hepursued it.

Sargent’s publications alone would havesecured him a significant place in Americanlandscape history. His fourteen-volume Silva ofNorth America, published between 1891 and1902, raised the study of American species to anew level of scholarship. The second edition ofhis Manual of the Trees of North Amenca, pub-lished in 1922, was called "an old friend regen-erated" and "the only complete guide to ournative trees" by Stephen Hamblin, the plant

specialist at Harvard’s Graduate Schoolof Design, in a review in LandscapeArchitecture magazine.l Sargent wasalso a leader in the effort to establish anAmerican forestry policy. His Catalogof the Forest Trees of North America forthe Tenth Census in 1884 and the planhe submitted to the New York State leg-islature for preserving the Adirondackforest placed him in the ranks of JohnMurr, George Engelmann, and GiffordPinchot. His association with Frederick

_

Law Olmsted resulted in a major contri-bution to the design of both the ArnoldArboretum and Boston’s Emerald Neck-lace park system, of which the Arbore-tum is a part.

In short, by 1911, when the MountVernon Ladies’ Association of theUmon sought advice from him for thesecond time, Sargent’s own reputation,as well as that of the Arnold Arboretumas an institution of international stand-

ing, had been secured. His decision towork with the Association was there-fore based not on a desire to enhance hisown prestige but rather on patriotismand a deep sense of responsibility to ahistoric site.

Like most groups seeking help withhistoric preservation, the Association

first defined its needs in the narrowest sense:the trees, many planted by George Washingtonhimself, needed professional care. Typical ofSargent, he redefined his role and from thebeginning offered advice on the broader require-ments for preservation: inventories of bothplants and structures, restoration of specificfeatures, vegetation management, and, mostimportantly, historic research to informdecision-making.Washington laid out a sweeping lawn, the

Bowling Green, edged by serpentine walkwayslined with shade trees: Ohio buckeye (Aesculusglabra), white ash (Fraxinus americana), south-ern magnolia (Magnoha grandiflora), mulberry(Morus sp.), poplar (Populus sp.). The trees bothframe the view of the mansion and providemuch-needed shade for the walkways. Heplanted a wide range of tree species at close

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intervals, with thick underplantings ofshrubs. Sargent was sympathetic tothis dense planting method, but it didforce the Association into some diffi-cult decisions by the beginning of thetwentieth century, when many of thetrees planted by Washington hadreached senescence and extraordinarymeasures were needed to sustaintheir lives. Moreover, other trees,planted by subsequent owners, werethreatening the health of the originalplantings, and volunteer trees hadto be identified and removed. All ofthe now-predictable emotional rever-berations attached to tree removalsurfaced during Sargent’s work withthe Association.

Sargent began to visit Mount

Vernon at least twice a year, in the falland the early spring, and a routinesoon evolved. Sargent would meetMiss Comegys at Mount Vernon andshe, Sargent, and Dodge would walkthe grounds and discuss work to bedone. Sargent would then go back toBoston and prepare work orders for theseason ahead. In the early years hemade detailed recommendations bothfor saving where possible the remain-ing trees planted by Washington andfor removing those that were beyondsaving and were beginning to damageother historic plantings. Sargent alsoused his contacts from the ArnoldArboretum to order a substantialnumber of plants, primarily for massplantings: native dogwoods (Cornusflorida), yellowwoods (Cladrastiskentukea), and fringetrees (Chio-nanthus virginicus) were planted toenhance the woodland and park areas.He prepared budget proposals, bothlong-term and short. He ordered bulbsfrom Holland and roses from England.He sent plants to Mount Vernon fromthe Arboretum and from his own gar-den at Holm Lea. And he offered

advice, pithy and to the point: Sargentwrote, when Dodge turned to the U.S.

Samuel Vaughan’s 1787 plan of Mount Vernon Washmgton attested toits accuracy

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Department of Agriculture for advice about theboxwoods at Mount Vernon, "I have little con-fidence in the experts at the Dept. of Agricul-ture, it is always a good plan to leave wellenough alone, especially in the case of old plantsand old people." II

Sargent was primarily concerned with thewoody plants of Mount Vernon and had littleinterest in the many separate gardens with her-baceous plants. He allowed himself to be drawninto garden projects only with great reluctance.In 1915 he prepared a list of "garden flowers" II

that would be suitable for Mount Vernon, asWashmgton’s diaries yielded little informationabout herbaceous plantings. Sargent’s advice onthe suitability of species was based on hisknowledge of plant introductions, enhanced bythe extensive library he was creating for theArnold Arboretum.The ladies of the Association also diverted his

attention from the trees in favor of long anddifficult searches for exotic plants to fill thegreenhouses and conservatory, putting greatpressure on him to locate orange and lemontrees as well as oleander, camellias, agaves, andpomegranates. Eventually Sargent refused fur-ther detective work, complaining that his pur-suit of conservatory plants detracted from hisreal goal-saving the specimen trees and wood-lands, the features at the heart of Washington’svision for the property.

You certainly would not hang a modern chromo oon the walls of Washington’s room becausesome important person gave it to you, andthere doesn’t seem to be much differencebetween a chromo on the walls and a purplemodern tree in the garden ... No one morethan I do wants to preserve the grounds asWashmgton left them ...

Letter from Charles Sprague Sargent to Mrs.John Carter Brown, Vice-Regent from RhodeIsland, The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Associationof the Umon, 5 June 1912 2

In embracing the stewardship of the MountVernon landscape, the members of the MountVernon Ladies’ Association came to feel that itwas their personal garden to add to, embellish,"improve." This misplaced sense of proprietor-ship is not unusual: indeed, the tendency to

"appropriate" historic landscapes is a frequentsource of conflict between preservation profes-sionals and committed amateurs. Initially,Sargent, with a certain amount of politeness andreserve, tried to make the Association under-stand the inappropriateness of some of theirembellishments. In 1915 he reacted to the pro-posal for adding a new cutting garden some dis-tance from the house by writing, "All thesedetached spots of cultivation more or lessremote from the center increase work and are

apt to be overlooked and neglected." Later,somewhat less patiently, he characterized as aneyesore the "new" greenhouse that had replacedthe original destroyed in a fire, and suggestedthat using it to grow flowers for sale to the pub-lic was somewhat lacking in dignity.The demand from the public for continual

floriferousness (appropriate or not) is a problemat historic sites, and Mount Vernon was noexception. Roses were a continuing subject ofdebate throughout the sixteen years of corre-spondence ; Association members and others putpressure on Dodge and his garden staff to plantthem. Sargent warned that few roses were avail-able during Washington’s lifetime and thosethat were did not bloom more than once a sea-son. He recommended the York and Lancasterroses and warned against ’Harnson’s Yellow’,which was not available during Washington’stime. In 1917 Sargent wrote that he had justdiscovered a rose brought to this country fromEngland by Abigail Adams and still growmg inthe garden of the Adams House in Quincy,Massachusetts. He noted that he would have afew plants propagated from that shrub forMount Vernon since its age would have made itappropriate for Washington’s garden.

Sargent had a special interest in restoring theOld Tomb area, usmg as his guide the writingsof Washington and of visitors to the propertyduring his time. At Harriet Comegys’ sugges-tion, he located a copy of Nathaniel ParkerWillis’ 1840 book, American Scenery, and heused the drawings by W. H. Bartlett to identifythe trees existing at that time. He pointed outthe unsuitability of the existing sundial and ofthe post and chams m front of the mansion andhelped locate replacements appropriate to

Washington’s period. But most of all Sargent

ri 9

George Washington and the Planting of Mount VernonCharles Sargent was committed to preserving the trees of Mount Vernon, especially those linmgthe walkways of the Bowling Green that had been planted by Washmgton. He was far lessinterested m the showy floriferousness of the ornamental gardens and was convinced thatWashington was of the same mind. Washington redesigned Mount Vernon after he acquired itfrom his brother’s family, and that design has been the subject of much research and speculation.

In preparation for the reconfiguration of the property, Washington enhanced his garden library,acquiring a 1728 edition of Batty Langley’s New Principles of Gardening with its detailed plansfor laying out a bowling green with edges defined by dense tree plantmgs. Washmgton plantedand replanted the walkways m grove configurations rather than formal allees and underplantedthe shade trees with dense "shrubberies" of small ornamental trees and shrubs.

Followmg are excerpts from letters and dianes of Washington.

19 August 177G. A letter to Lund WashmgtonPlant trees in the room of all dead ones m proper time this Fall, and as I mean to have groves of Treesat each end of the dwelling House, that at the South end to range m a line from the South East Cornerto Colo. Fairfax’s, extendmg as low as another line from the Stable to the dry Well, and towards theCoach House, ... Seen from the No. Et. Corner of the other end of the House to range so as to showthe Barn, &ca. m the Neck.... these Trees to be Planted without any order or regularity (but prettythick, as they can at any time be thm’d) and to consist that at the North end, of locusts altogether.and that at the South, of all the clever kmd of Trees (especially flowering ones) that can be got, suchas Crab apple, Poplar, Dogwood, Sasafras, Laurel, Willow (especially yellow and Weeping Willow,twigs of which may be got from Philadelphia) and many others which I do not recollect at present;those to be mterspersed here and there with ever greens such as Holly, Pme, and Cedar, also Ivy; tothese may be added the Wild flowering Shrubs of the larger kmd, such as the fringe Trees and severalother kmds that might be mentioned.

August 1776. A letter to Lund WashmgtonI wish that the afore-mentioned shrubs and ornamental and curious trees maybe planted at both ends that I may determme hereafter from circumstances andappearances which shall be the grove and which the wilderness. It is easy to

extirpate Trees from any spot but time only can bring them to maturity.

23 March 1785

Fmdmg the Trees round the Walks m my wildernesses rather too thm I doubledthem by putting (other Pme~ trees between each.

Laid off the Walks in my Groves, at each end of the House.

29 March 1785

Transplanted in the groves at the ends of the House the following young trees.Viz.-9 live oak-11 Yew or Hemlock-10 Aspan-4 Magnolia-2 Elm-2Papaw-2 Lilacs-3 Fnnge-1 Swampberry & 1 H < >."

A facsimile of a lostsketch of GeorgeWashmgton by

Ben~amm Latrobe,1796.

6 April 1786Transplanted 46 of the large Magnollo of So. Carolina from the box brought by G. A. Washmgton lastyear-mz.-6 at the head of each of the Serpentine Walks next the Cmcle-26 m the Shrubbery orgrove at the South end of the House & 8 in that at the No. end. The ground was so wet, more couldnot at this time be planted there

Excerpts are from Keywords m Amemcan Landscape Design by Therese O’Malley, Elizabeth Kryder-Reid, and Anne L. Helmrelch, Center for Advanced Study m the Visual Arts/National Gallery of Art,Washington, DC, forthcoming. Sketch is courtesy of Maryland Historical Society and Mac Gnswold.

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was concerned that the Association’sembellishments to both grounds andbuildings would unnecessarily exacer-bate the problem of long-term mainte-nance. "The thing to do is to reducethe cost of maintenance by permanentimprovement," he wrote to Mrs. JohnCarter Brown in 1916. To that end herecommended that little-used roads beremoved and discouraged unnecessarypaths and the proliferation of smalloutbuildings, each with a limited spe-cial use.

That we should have at our commandif possible every bit of informationobtainable, that could in any way beof use in this important work of today,as well as for the Association’s benefitin the future.

The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Associa-tion of the Umon, Mmutes of theCouncil, May 1915 S

It is ironic that Sargent, the botanist-arborist-dendrologist whose far-

ranging fieldwork made him famousas an international leader in forest

policy and the preservation of scenery,should also have been the strict disci-

plinarian who demanded that thework of the Association be based onhistorical scholarship. At his urging,the Boston Athenaeum prepared abibliography of books and articles relating toGeorge Washington and Mount Vernon based ontheir own catalog of Washington literature andthe holdings of several other libraries includingthose of Harvard, the American AntiquarianSociety, and the Library of Congress. The bibli-ography took the form of 5,000 handwrittencards housed in a special wooden case that isnow in the Mount Vernon archives. (Like manybibliographic endeavors its usefulness quicklydiminished because it was not continuallyupdated.) /Elswyth Thane in her 1967 book, Mount

Vernon: the Legacy, states that it was partlySargent’s use of Washington’s diaries (the Asso-ciation had obtained typewritten copies of thosein the Library of Congress) that motivated the

The sago palm at Mount Vernon m 1999.

Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association to sponsorthe diaries’ first publication in 1925, edited bythe historian, John C. Fitzpatrick. Sargent’s cor-respondence with the Association confirms hisenormous interest in the diaries; he continuallymined them for bits of information about boththe plantings of Mount Vernon and its architec-tural features. He corresponded with MaxFarrand, the Yale historian (and husband ofSargent’s former pupil, landscape architectBeatrix Farrand), about the availability ofWashington’s writings. He prodded the Associa-tion to acquire more original documents per-taining to Mount Vernon and through his ownacquaintance with antiquarian book dealersacquired several documents himself, which hedonated to the Association. His interest in the

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historical documentation of Mount Vernonresulted in a short article for the journalRhodora on Andre Michaux’s 1786 visit toMount Vernon, which Washington had docu-mented in his diames.2

"... but no trees planted by man have thehuman interest of the Mount Vernon trees.

"

From The Trees of Mount Vernon by CharlesSprague Sargent, revised edition, 1926

The reincarnation as souvenirs or talismans oftrees that were "witnesses to history" hasbecome a familiar form of "preservation." Seedsof historic trees are distributed to far-flung loca-tions ; dead trees reappear as commemorative

bookends, paperweights, sculptures. While thispractice gives some m the preservation field asense of unease, it cannot be disputed that thetree as icon engages the public’s attention,which can then be redirected to the larger issuesof preservation. Although Sargent struggled tomaintain a dignified context for his work, he

did not dismiss the value of this appeal to pub-lic sentiment.A case in point is the so-called "Washington

Elm," which stood on the Cambridge (Massa-chusetts) Common for centuries and wasso named because, as the story goes, GeorgeWashington took command of the ContinentalArmy under the tree on July 3, 1775. The treeeven bore a plaque to this effect. In October of1923 the Washington Elm fell (or was acciden-tally pulled over by a workman trying to removea dead branch). Given no reason to question thetree’s historical association, Sargent secured across section of the tree’s trunk and sent it to a

plant anatomist at Harvard’s Bussey Institutionwho confirmed its age. After complicatednegotiations between Sargent and the city ofCambridge, the cross section was then sent toMount Vernon for display in the kitchen fire-place (a location the Cambridge city fathersthought inappropriate).

Either unknown to Sargent, or perhaps dis-missed by him, was detailed research compiled

Postcard mew of the Tomb of Washmgton, undated, probably 1930s Sargent had a special interest in restormgthis area.

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Tipped mto the Fitzpatmck edition of The Diaries of George Washington mthe collection of the Arnold Arboretum.

by Samuel Batchelder of Cambridge and pub-lished in the Cambridge Tnbune in 1923. Mr.Batchelder very convincingly debunked theWashington association, statmg that if Wash-ington stood under the tree he did so to get outof the rain. Nevertheless, the cross section ofthe tree remamed at Mount Vernon for manyyears and was reproduced with an almost reli-gious aura in brochures and postcards for thegeneral public.’A less questionable project was Sargent’s

effort to restore to Mount Vernon the famoussago palm (Cycas revoluta) that Washingtonacquired from Pratt’s Garden in Philadephia.Washington grew the palm for many years m asmall conservatory. A document in the archivesof the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association statesthat it was sold after the death in 1802 of hiswidow, Martha, to a Mr. Peter De Windt ofFishkill-on-Hudson, New York, where it flour-ished for many years. In 1841 the palm wasacquired by Henry Winthrop Sargent for thelarge conservatory on his Fishkill estate,Wodenethe, which passed in 1882 to his sonWinthrop Sargent.At the request of Charles Sargent, who

located the long-lost plant, Winthrop Sargent’s

widow donated it to MountVernon. The tree was installed inthe Palm House at Mount Vernon,but was quickly found to haveoutgrown the space during itstime away. The roof was raisedmore than once, but after thrivingfor several years the tree began tofall. Numerous remedies andtherapies were tried but the plantdied in 1934-after Sargent’sdeath, mercifully, as he hadinvested considerable time in

prolonging its life. In 1941 a cut-ting from a still-thriving tree atTudor Place in Washington, DC-acquired from Pratt’s Garden atthe same time as Washington’s-was given to Mount Vernon whereit has continued to grow. This isthe palm we see there today.By 1922, Sargent, then 81, was

dismayed that work on the

grounds of Mount Vernon had not progressedmore quickly and complamed that decision-making was needlessly slow. In November 1922he wrote to Harriet Comegys, "It is a greatregret that having devoted ten or twelve years ofmy best thoughts and attention to MountVernon I have been unable to secure the confi-dence of the Council to the extent of letting mecarry out my planting plans. Tree removals areneeded. I wish the Council had more imagina-tion and more power to look into the future.The thing which I feel sure about in this matteris that if Washington were here himself hewould be on my side."

"

Sargent made his last visit to Mount Vernonin 1923. In June of 1924 a major storm atMount Vernon seriously damaged a tulip tree(Linodendron tulipifera), a sugar maple (Acersaccharum), and an Ohio buckeye (AesculusglabraJ, all planted by Washington. Sargent gaveDodge stern advice to use only the best arboristavailable to repair the damage. He wrote toHarriet Comegys that he might have growmg inthe Arnold Arboretum nursery some small cut-tings from a Mount Vernon buckeye and hewould send one of them if it matched the onelost. By that time, however, Sargent’s health

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was frail, and although he still went to his officeat the Arboretum everyday, as the year pro-gressed he admitted that he could not make thetrip to assess the storm damage. Instead he sentthe Arnold Arboretum’s young superintendentof grounds, Christian Van der Voet, a horticul-turist from Holland who had trained at Kew.Van der Voet made several trips to MountVernon in Sargent’s stead.

Sargent remained involved through corre-spondence with the work at Mount Vernonuntil his death in March of 1927. Harriet

Comegys died a few months later. Thus ended afriendship based on mutual respect and commit-ment to the preservation of the Mount Vernonlandscape. The only publication of Sargent’ssixteen-year relationship with Mount Vernonwas his inventory and condition assessment ofthe trees of the Bowling Green and around themansion. The Trees at Mount Vernon was first

published in 1917 as part of the annual report ofthe Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. It was

updated and reprinted in 1926 as a separatedocument and was offered for sale at the Man-sion for many years. The report includes an

introduction, a description and conditionassessment of each tree, a scaled plan with all ofthe trees located and numbered, and appendicesthat include a list of the trees planted by Wash-ington that had since disappeared.

Several of Washington’s original trees remainat Mount Vernon-a great white ash, a tulippoplar-nurtured by Sargent and subsequentgenerations of consultants and gardeners.Washington’s original trees are surrounded

by many replacement plants and by the lush,restored ornamental gardens, a significant con-cern of the present generation of curators andsponsors. But the original trees reflect Sargent’s

admonition that "no care should be spared topreserve them, and as they pass away theyshould be replaced with trees of the same kmds,that Mount Vernon may be kept for all time asnear as possible in the same condition m whichWashington left it. "4

Notes

Unless otherwise indicated, all quotations are frommatenal m the Archives of the Mount Vernon Ladies’

Association, Mount Vernon, Virginia.1 Landscape Archltecture, vol. 12 (July 1922J, 298-2992 Rhodora Journal of the New England BotamcalClub, vol 17 (March 1915), 49-50.

3 For a discussion of Batchelder and the myth of theWashmgton Elm, see Sheila Connor, New EnglandNatives ~Cambndge, MA. Harvard University Press,1994), 111.

Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union,Annual Report (Mount Vernon, VA 1917), 46

AcknowledgmentsCurrent landscape preservation practice can be greatlyenhanced by understanding the actions, as well as themtentions, of the past In addition to the landscape itself,archives are a vital source of information about theseactions. The author wishes to acknowledge the valuableassistance of Barbara McMillan, Librarian of MountVernon, and Sheila Connor, Horticultural ResearchArchivist of the Arnold Arboretum.

Additional ReadingThe bicentennial of Washmgton’s death has generatedseveral new publications about Mount Vernon. The mostnotable are Mac Gnswold, Washmgton’s Gardens atMount Vernon Landscape of the Inner Man (Boston:Houghton Mifflm, 1999), and Wendell Garrett ~ed./,George Washmgton’s Mount Vernon (New York: TheMonacelh Press, 1998).

Phyllis Andersen is director of the Institute for CulturalLandscape Studies of the Arnold Arboretum.

Redwood Burls: Immortality Underground

Peter Del Tredici

he California coast redwood, Sequoiasempervirens, is famous for many-L reasons, not least for being the tallest

tree in the world, reaching heights over threehundred feet under optimal growing conditions.Indeed, the tree is so spectacular that it hascome to symbolize the grandeur and uniquenessof California itself. Smce the earliest days ofstatehood, the redwood tree has played a majorrole in the lives of California’s citizens. Noone has described the importance of that rolebetter than Willis Linn Jepson in his famousSilva of California:The writer of these lines is a Cahfornian. He wasrocked by a pioneer mother m a cradle made ofRedwood. The house m which he lived was

largely made of Redwood.... He went to schoolin a Redwood schoolhouse, sat at a desk made ofRedwood and wore shoes the leather of whichwas tanned m Redwood vats. Everywhere hetouched Redwood. Boxes, bins, bats, barns,bridges, bungalows were made of Redwood.Posts, porches, piles, pails, pencils, pillars,paving-blocks, pipe lmes, sometimes even

policemen, were made of Redwood....

From the tree’s perspective, the love affairwith the early Californians was perhaps a bit toointense, leading to the logging of over ninetypercent of the tree’s original range by the late1950s. It is only through the efforts of privateconservation groups, beginning in the 1920s,later by the State of California, and finally theNational Park Service, that any of the original,uncut stands of trees exist today. As spectacularas these old-growth forests are, with theirtrunks disappearing into the fog that enshroudsthe forest much of the year, they do not presenta complete picture of the species. For that, onemust visit redwood stands that were logged fiftyto one hundred and fifty years ago. It is here thatone finds the multi-trunked specimens thathave sprouted from around the stumps of the

original trees. In some redwood forests, the sec-ond generation of trunks have also been cut,leading to a third generation of sprout growth.Among conifers, the redwood is unique in itsremarkable power of basal regeneration. To mymind it is the redwood’s ability to resprout-itsgreat vitality-that makes the tree worthy ofadmiration and study.My own interest in the coast redwood goes

back to my childhood in Marin County, Califor-nia, where redwoods grow naturally on theslopes of nearby Mt. Tamalpais. Quite literally,I grew up with the tree in my backyard andspent a week every summer vacationing in theirmidst, along the banks of the Eel River. Evenas a child it was hard not to recognize some-thing special about the redwood tree, somethingthat made it different from other trees. Had

you asked me about it then, I’m sure I wouldhave said something about their huge size orabout the solemnity I felt in their midst, almostlike being in church. Such quasi-religiousfeelings are expressed by nearly everyone whovisits an old-growth redwood forest, but fewpeople think about or are even aware of thetree’s extraordinary powers of survival.

Studies of Tree RegenerationGiven my long personal connnection with theredwood tree, it’s not surprising that I chose tostudy it later in life. Nor is it surprising that Ichose to focus on the tree’s ability to resproutfollowing traumatic disturbance. I have beenstudying the regenerative powers of trees formany years, most notably in Ginkgo biloba,and it seemed only natural that I should turn toSequoia sempervirens as a research subject, tosee whether the redwood behaves similarly.With generous support from the Highsted Foun-dation in Redding, Connecticut, I was able tovisit the center of the "redwood empire," nearEureka, California, to conduct a week of field

15 5

A cross section of a 133-day-old redwood seedlmg clearlyshowmg the well developed bud clusters m the axils ofthe cotyledons (mdicated by arrows). The stem of theseedlmg, above the cotyledonary node, is about twocentimeters m diameter.

A five-year-old greenhouse-grown seedlmg showmg theproliferation of suppressed buds at and above the

cotyledonary node. Bar = 1.0 centimeter.

studies on vegetative regeneration and to collectseeds for cultivation in the Arnold Arboretum’s

greenhouses.There are numerous reports in the literature

of woody plants, primarily angiosperms, thatpossess the ability to resprout from under-ground burls, technically known as lignotubers.Anatomical studies of lignotuber formation ina number of species, including Eucalyptusin Australia (Carr et al. 1984), the cork oak(Quercus suber) of the southern Mediterranean~Molinas and Verdagues 1993/, and Gmkgobiloba (Del Tredici 1992, 1997), have estab-lished that they form in seedlings as part of thetrees’ normal development. Lignotubers origi-nate in buds located in the axils of the seedleaves (cotyledons) and a few of the leavesimmediately above them.At first these cotyledonary bud swellings are

small, but over time they can become quitelarge and contribute to the survival of the treein several ways: Primarily they are a site forthe production and storage of suppressed budsthat can sprout following traumatic injury tothe primary stem. They are also a site for thestorage of carbohydrates and mineral nutrients,which facilitate the rapid growth of these sup-pressed buds following stress or damage to theprimary trunk. And finally, in the case of plantsgrowing on steep slopes, the lignotuber canfunction as a kind of clasping organ that anchorsthe tree to the rocky substrate (Sealy 1949,Del Tredici et al. 1992). In general, lignotuber-producing species are most commonly found inMediterranean-type ecosystems that are charac-terized by hot, dry summers and periodic fires.

Early Stages of Lignotuber DevelopmentThe forestry literature on Sequoia is clear aboutthe commercial and ecological importance ofthe tree’s ability to resprout after logging, butvery little has been written about the preciseorigin of these sprouts in young plants. Myobservations on greenhouse-grown Sequoiaseedlings indicate that lignotuber formationstarts with the precocious development of budslocated in the axils of the two cotyledons, just asit does in Ginkgo and Eucalyptus. Within thefirst six months of life, these buds proliferatedto form distinct clusters that protruded from the

16 l

4 large Sequoia growmg along a streambank m the HumboldtRedwoods State Park. It shows extensive root and trunk

~evelopment from Its exposed, downward-growmg hgnotuber

stem and were clearly visible to the naked eye.In a few cases, one or two of these buds producetiny leafy shoots within six months.

After a few years of cultivation in the green-house, nearly all of the young lignotubers wereproducing leafy shoots and the swelling of thestem associated with lignotuber formation hadspread upward to engulf several nodes above thecotyledons.With redwood seedlings growing in nature,

the process of lignotuber development proceedsmore slowly than it does in the greenhouse,

mainly because the tiny plants are undersevere environmental stress. In the wild,one typically finds redwood seedlingsgrowing in areas that have experiencedsome form of disturbance, such as flood-ing or road maintenance, that had dis-turbed the topsoil, leaving the subsoilexposed. Under field conditions, mostredwood seedlings do not form visiblebud swellings at the cotyledonary nodesuntil they are between three and sixyears old. Interestingly, these tinylignotubers often produce adventitiousroots as well as leafy shoots in responseto the partial burial that they experiencefollowing the heavy rains and erosioncharacteristic of the region.

Lignotuber Development inMature Trees

Lignotubers continue to expandthroughout the life of a Sequoia tree,eventually forming massive swellings ator just below ground level, and theirouter surface is literally covered withsuppressed shoot buds. On undamagedtrees, the lignotuber typically gives riseto clusters of small leafy shoots that ringthe base of the trunk. On trees that haveexperienced damage, either from loggingor erosion, the lignotuber can producelarge secondary trunks that equal orexceed the primary trunk in size.

Mature trees that were logged 90 to 100years ago develop lignotuber sproutswell over a meter in diameter. Whensuch second-generation trees are foundgrowing on a steep slope near a stream

or a roadcut, the woody lignotuber is readilyrecognized as a massive "plate" of downward-growing tissue that follows the contours of theground and extends up to ten feet from the near-est trunk. On such sites, the lignotuber oftendevelops into a kind of clasping organ that com-pletely envelops large rocks, further stabilizmgthe tree. As well as giving rise to new shoots,such exposed lignotubers are also the sourceof new roots that help to anchor trees to theeroding slopes. Indeed, preliminary observa-tions suggest that all of the roots that support a

17 7

second-generation Sequoia sprout, regardless ofits size, are generated by the lignotuber.

Induced Lignotubers on Layered BranchesOnly once have I observed "layering" in

Sequoia. Rudolf Becking, a retired ecologistfrom Humboldt State University, had takenme to see what he assumed was a group of

"seedlings" that had germinated following aparticularly severe flood in the 1960s. Closerexammation showed that they were not seed-lings at all. Rather, they were lateral branches ofvery weak, spindly saplings that had been bentover by limbs falling from the nearby canopytrees and had taken root and reestablished a ver-tical orientation. Typically, a single, downward-growing lignotuber had developed along the side- ~--,-_.._-_._._-

--- - - -

A layered lateral branch of Sequoia. Note that thedownward-growmg, induced hgnotuber has producedboth roots and a vegetative shoot Bar = 1 0 centimeter

of the branch m contact with the soil, althoughin a few cases several lignotubers had formedalong the length of the buried stem. On suchlayered branches, the original connection to itsparent trunk had mostly withered away, leavingonly the bowed shape of the stem and theoff-center lignotuber as evidence of its ongin ina branch.As is the case with lignotubers derived from

the cotyledonary node, those formed by layeredbranches possess the ability to generate bothbuds and roots. How long it takes for a branchto develop a lignotuber after it has been pinnedto the ground is not known, but it is probablyat least a year or two. From the ecological per-spective, the layering ability of redwood seed-lings appears to give them some flexibility in

An ancient Sequoia in Big Basm Redwoods State Parkshowmg massive burl development on its trunk.

18 8

A trunk burl purchased in a Eureka, Cahforma, gift shop that is producingboth roots and shoots after six months in the greenhouse

A fallen redwood tree resproutmg from its basal hgnotuber.

responding to environmental conditions bymigrating from areas of shade into areas withbetter light.

Redwood Burls

The large lignotuber-like structures that aresold in redwood country gift shops are com-monly called burls. They develop not belowground, as true lignotubers do, but on the lowerportions of the trunks of old redwood trees

in response to injury from fire,wind, or flooding.Typically, trunkburls form above the point of

injury to the stem and eventuallygrow out and down to cover thewound. In some cases, particu-larly when damage to the tree isextensive, great tongues of tissueproject from the trunk-two feetor more-creating bizarre struc-tures that resemble the gargoyleson medieval cathedrals. Whenthese structures come in contactwith the ground, they can developboth roots and shoots. Indeed,there has long been a cottageindustry in the redwood regionbased on the harvesting of burlsfor sale to tourists. When placedin a dish of water with the cut sidedown, they will produce leafyshoots within a week or two.

They can even be induced to pro-duce roots after six months to ayear if kept in a warm greenhousewith plenty of light and water.Interestingly, only when the ori-entation of the burl on the tree isreversed-putting the cut sidedown-will buds sprout out.

My preliminary observations ofwild trees suggest that these burlsoriginate on the trunks of old red-woods as wound-induced callustissue that incorporates nearbybuds into its ever-expanding mass.There appear to be two distincttypes of burls on Sequoia trunks.The "gargoyle" type, usuallylocated on the lower portions of

the trunk, is irregular in shape, grows outwardand downward, and is covered with sprouts orbuds.The second type occurs higher on thetrunk; it is nearly hemispherical in shape, doesnot grow downward, and produces compara-tively few sprouts or buds.

In general, trunk burls can be interpreted as acase of uncontrolled bud and cortex prolifera-tion induced by old age, traumatic injury, orenvironmental stress. The ecological function

19

A forest of redwoods m Korbel, California, resprouting from t~sir lignotubers three years after clear-cutting,- ~

’A

A postcard showing what is believed to be the largest Sequoia hgnotuber ever reported. It was 41 feet across,weighed approximately 525 tons, and supported at least seven large trunks The burl was uncovered m 1977at Big Lagoon near Eureka, Cahforma.

20

of trunk burls is to produce new shootsand adventitious roots on trees that havebeen partially buried under silt fromflooding or that were leaning such thatthey come in contact with the soil

(Stone and Vasey 1968). While trunkburls with basal lignotubers are similar,it is important to keep in mmd that thelignotuber formed at the cotyledonarynode is under strict genetic control,while burls that develop on the stemare under environmental control. In this

regard, Sequoia is similar to Ginkgobiloba, which also produces lignotubersfrom the cotyledonary node as well asburls on its trunk and branches (DelTredici 1992, 1997).

The Economics of LignotubersRegardless of the age or size of the parenttree, redwood lignotubers can resproutwithin two to three weeks of loggmg.While most of these sprouts die before

reaching maturity, enough of them sur-vive to regenerate the forest. A study ofan old-growth forest that had beenclearcut five to ten years earlier showedthat the rate of resprouting was greatestin trees that had been between 200 and400 years of age at the time of cuttingand it decreased rapidly thereafter, suchthat trees more than 1,000 years oldresprouted at only 20 to 25 percent ofthe peak rate (Powers and Wiant 1970).The researchers found that 92 percent ofall surviving sprouts grew from the

lignotuber, 6 percent from the remains ofthe trunk, and 2 percent from the cut, horizon-tal surface of the stump. For trees growing on aslope greater than 20 percent, the sprouts weremore numerous on the downhill side of thetrunk than on the uphill.The remarkable ability of redwood trees to

resprout from lignotubers, regardless of age, isclearly the basis for the redwood’s vitality in theface of massive over-harvesting by the timberindustry. Essentially, logging has transformedSequoia sempervirens into a clonal organismthat slowly expands its range by lignotubersprouting. The potential dimensions of the

A ring of "second generatzon" redwoods that sprouted from thehgnotuber after the pnmary trunk was logged approximately onehundred years ago

redwood lignotuber were first suggested byW. L. Jepson, who described a clump of 45 largeredwoods that formed a third-generation "fairyring" fifty feet by fifty-six feet across. The photoon page 19 shows a giant lignotuber thathas been exposed by erosion near the city ofEureka, California.

The Ecology of LignotubersThe importance of lignotuber sprouting to theforestry industry has been abundantly docu-mented, but very little information is availableon its ecological significance in the absence of

21

Unhke most redwoods that sprout from the basal hgnotuber, this unusual specimen has sprouted along theentme length of its prostrate trunk, producmg a Imear grove of trees

logging. In a 1987 study of an uncut Sequoiaforest, J. D. Stuart found that basal sproutingin redwood is closely associated with fire.

By correlating fire scars on the primary trunk ofthe tree with basal sprouts from its lignotuber,the author determined that during the

presettlement period (between 1775 and 1875),fires occurred regularly at the site, at an intervalof about 25 years. Other studies on the cut

stumps of old-growth trees also support the ideathat fires were common prior to Europeansettlement and that redwood trees are well

adapted to survive them (Fritz 1931, Jacobs et al.1985, Finney and Martin 1992).These findings from California redwood

forests are consistent with studies in other

Mediterranean-type climates, which indicatethat lignotuber-producing angiosperms are com-mon in areas where fire or other types of fre-

quently recurring disturbances (for example,grazing) are common (James 1984, Mesleard andLepart 1989). These studies also suggest that, in

the absence of logging, sproutmg from thelignotuber probably has much greater ecologicalsignificance for seedlings and saplings growingin dense shade or on exposed slopes than it doesfor mature trees (Canadell and Zedler 1994).

It is also worth noting that the trunk of a red-wood tree above the basal lignotuber has theability to resprout following damage from wind,fire, or flooding. At the turn of the century,when fire was commonplace m the redwoodregion, there were frequent reports of largetrees whose foliage had been entirely burnedoff vigorously sprouting to form lush "fire

columns" (Jepson 1923, Fritz 1931). Similarly,I have seen one wind-felled tree sproutnew growth along the entire length of thefallen trunk.

_

RejuvenationBoth morphologically and physiologically,the lignotuber-generated shoots produced bymature redwoods are considered "juvenile"

22 z

relative to the shoots on the rest of the tree.This conclusion is supported by in vitro studiesthat demonstrated that tissue cultures startedwith lignotuber shoots from the base of a 90-year-old Sequoia were more vigorous and rootedmore readily than those started with shootsfrom the crown of the same tree (Bon et al.1994). The researchers also identified numerousmembrane-associated proteins that were syn-thesized in greater abundance in culturesderived from lignotuber shoots than thosederived from the upper portions of the tree.

In light of this and other similar studies, it isnot surprising that as long ago as 1950 Sequoiashould have been the first conifer to be success-fully cultured using in vitro techniques, byErnest Ball, and that these cultures were startedfrom lignotuber sprouts. Quite literally, theSequoia lignotuber can produce physiologicallyjuvenile shoots continually throughout most ofits long life. This ability endows the tree with akind of ecological immortality-by which Imean that as long as environmental conditionsremain constant, the tree can live forever, or atleast until it’s uprooted.

References

Ball, E. 1950. Differentiation in a callus culture of

Sequoia sempervirens Growth 14: 295-325.

Bon, M.-C., F. Riccardi, and O. Monteuuls. 1994.Influence of phase change within a 90-year-old Sequoia sempervmens on tts m mtro

organogenic capacity and protein patterns.Trees 8. 283-287.

Canadell, J., and P. H. Zedler. 1994. Undergroundstructures of woody plants m Mediterraneanecosystems of Australia, California, andChile. In: M. T. Kahn Arroya, P. H. Zedler, andM. D. Fox, eds., Ecology and Biogeographyof Mediterranean ecosystems m Chile,California, and Australia. New York’ Spnnger-Verlag, 177-210.

Carr, D. J., R. Jahnke, and S. G. M. Carr. 1984. Initiation,development, and anatomy of hgnotubersin some species of Eucalyptus AustralianJournal of Botany 32: 415-437.

Del Tredici, P. 1992 Natural regeneration of Gmkgobiloba from downward growmg cotyledonarybuds (basal chichi). Amencan Journal ofBotany 79. 522-530.

. 1997. Lignotuber development m Gmkgo biloba.In T. Hon et al., eds, The World of GznkgoTokyo: Springer Verlag, 119-126.

. 1998. Lignotubers m Sequoia sempervirens:development and ecological significanceMadrono 45: 255-260.

, H Ling, and G. Yang. 1992. The Gmkgos of TianMu Shan. Conservation Biology 6. 202-209.

Fntz, E. 1931. The role of fire m the redwood region.Journal of Forestry 29: 939-950

Fmney, M. A., and R. E. Martin. 1992. Short fire mtervalsrecorded by redwoods at Annadel State Park,California. Madroiio 39: 251-262.

Huang, L.-C., L. Suwenza, B.-L. Huang, T. Murashige,E. F. M Mahdi, and R. van Bundy. 1992.

Rejuvenation of Sequoia sempervmens byrepeated grafting of shoot tips onto juvenilerootstocks in vitro. Plant Physiology 98:166-173

Jacobs, D F., D. W. Cole, and J. R. McBnde. 1985. Firehistory and perpetuation of natural coastredwood ecosystems. Journal of Forestry 83:494-497.

James, S 1984. Lignotubers and burls-their structure,function and ecological significance in

Mediterranean ecosystems. Botamcal Reviews50: 225-266

Jepson, W. L. 1910. The Silva of California Berkeley:The University Press.

Mesleard, F., and J. Lepart. 1989 Contmuous basalsprouting from a lignotuber. Arbutus unedo L.and Erica arborea L as woody Mediterraneanexamples. Oecologia 80: 127-131.

Molinas, M. L., and D. Verdaguer. 1993. Lignotuberontogeny in the cork-oak (Quercus suber,Fagaceae) II. Germination and young seedling.American Journal of Botany 80. 182-191.

Powers, R. F., and H. V. Wiant. 1970. Sproutmg of old-growth coastal redwood stumps on slopes.Forest Science 16: 339-341.

Sealy, J. R. 1949. The swollen stem-base m Arbutusunedo. Kew Bulletm 4: 241-251.

Stone, E. C., and R. B. Vasey. 1968. Preservation ofcoast redwood on alluvial flats Science 159:157-161.

Stuart, J. D. 1987. Fire history of an old-growth forestof Sequoia sempervmens /Taxodiaceae) mHumboldt Redwoods State Park, California.Madrono 34: 128-141.

Peter Del Tredici is director of living collections atthe Arnold Arboretum Recent publications include acontribution to The Redwood Forest History, Ecology,and Conservation edited by Reed F. Noss and pubhshedby Island Press.

Silver Maple: A Victim of Its Own Adaptability

Harold Koda

ew native American trees have a broader

range than Acer saccharinum. The species~- occurs naturally in New Brunswick innortheastern Canada, west through northernMichigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, south ona line from southeastern South Dakota to east-ern Oklahoma, east to northern Georgia, andback northeast to Maine and New Brunswick-an area covering a third of the contmentalUnited States. It is adaptable over the entirecountry excepting only the lower, subtropical,portion of Florida. It grows most vigorously onthe rich, well-drained alluvial soils found alongthe rivers of the Midwest. In some of the river

valleys and floodplains of northern Missouri,eastern Nebraska, Iowa, southern Wisconsin,and Illinois, it is the dominant canopy species.In New York State it is found near swampsin the company of green ash (Fraxinuspennsylvanica).The range of environments that Acer

saccharinum tolerates gives a clue to itssuccess. It can tolerate longer periods of inunda-tion than most other species; in one instance,mature trees succumbed only after two years ofconstant inundation. It is usually found in soilswith a pH above 4.0 (in cultivation, the recom-mended range is 4.5 to 7.0), but it tolerates theextreme acidity of muck and peat soils of pH 2.0to 3.3. This unusual degree of adaptability todifferent environments-the key to silver

maple’s wide distribution-results from its dis-tinctive set of biological attributes.

Biological AttributesAcer saccharinum is a fast-growing deciduoustree found on wetland sites, especially alongriverbanks and lake edges. It generally reachesfifty to seventy feet in height at maturity with aforty- to fifty-foot spread, but under protectedconditions it can achieve much greater size. Thenational champion silver maple, in Michigan,

was 125 feet tall, 22.58 in circumference, with acrown spread of 111 feet in 1975. At 120 feet inheight, the Arnold Arboretum’s centenarian,planted m 1881 next to the wet meadow not farfrom the Arborway entrance, also measures atthe species’ upper range in height. Its shorttrunk, which divides mto several large branchesto form a rounded crown, is typical of open-grown silver maples. If growing space is moreconstricted, the species develops a long, straightstem with a thin crown. Young stems andbranches are smooth, but older branches andtrunks develop a darker gray surface, scaly andshaggy, with long, narrow flakes. Its most com-mon name is derived from the silver-coloredunderside of its leaves; other names are soft,white, and river maple.

Silver maple manifests several morphologicaladaptations to wetland conditions. In responseto inundation, seedlings put out adventitiousroots above the soil surface, in some cases afterthe original root system has been destroyed byprolonged soil saturation. Abnormally large len-ticels are also responses to soil saturation; theyare thought to increase oxygen uptake. And thetree’s shallow root systems are a mechanismused by several plants to survive the anaerobiccondition that occurs underground during peri-ods of saturation.The species’ reproductive cycle also illus-

trates adaptations that contribute to its success.As a genus, maples attain reproductive maturityover a range of ages; in this respect, the silver

maple falls near the middle of the group, with aminimum seed-bearing age of eleven years. Sea-sonally, however, it develops earlier than mostmaples; together with red maple (Acer rubrum)it is the earliest maple to flower and seed, andits seeds germinate immediately in early sum-mer, often sprouting on top of the soil wherethey fall. Silver maple’s flowers are preceded bythick reddish buds that turn greenish yellow,

24 E

At 120 feet m height, the sllver maple that grows along Meadow Road is the tallest tree m the Arboretum. Nearly 120years In age, it has survived the icestorm of 1921, the hurncane of 1938, and the prunmg subsequent to those andmany other storms.

25

similar to those of A. rubrum but

slightly larger. The buds appear beforethe leaves, in late winter or very earlyspring, with males and femalescrowded separately on nearly stalklessclusters. Flowering on each tree is gen-erally completed within a very shortperiod-a day or so-and often theblossoms drop before the leaves fullydevelop. Therefore, the period of

pollen receptivity is typically less thana week.The ripening period for the winged

seeds (technically, samara) is likewisevery concentrated, with all the seedsbeing released within less than twoweeks. Long-distance dispersal is

ensured because the V-shaped samara,attached by a flexible, threadlike stem,can be released from the tree only by astrong wind; after release its mobilityis further enhanced by its propeller-like motion. Seeds germinate mostsuccessfully when they fall on moist,disturbed soil with leaf litter or other

organic matter.The seedling at first requires full

sun to establish itself, followed bypartial shade-a pattern well adaptedto environments common to silver

maple. The tree’s early fruit formationand seed dispersal, together withimmediate germination, allow theseedlings to begin growing unham-pered by dense canopy and competi-tive cover; later they take advantage ofthickening canopy and groundcover tomeet the need for shade. However, while somemoisture is essential for germination, seedlingsmay be stunted if the soil is saturated, m whichcase a drier soil is needed to allow them torecover. Nature usually fulfills this requirementwith the shrinking of streams and rivers in sum-mer and the attendant drying of the banks.As an abundant producer of early seed crops,

silver maple is an important food source for awide range of birds (grosbeaks, finches, woodducks, wild turkeys, other game birds) and smallmammals (squirrels and chipmunks). Its earlybuds are also of value to squirrels in late winter

C S. Sargent commented on this Acer sacchannum m his Silva ofNorth America (1891). "The Silver Maple is a fast-growing tree, evenafter it has attamed a large size. The great tree on the meadows mNorthampton, Massachusetts, mentioned by (George Barrell) Emerson(m his Forest Trees of Massachusetts, 1859], had a trunk cmcum ferenceat three and a half feet from the ground of twelve feet six mches m1837. Fifty-two years later the trunk, which had become hollow andmuch decayed, measured at the same distance from the groundseventeen feet four mches

"

This photo dates from the turn of thetwentieth century.

when their stored resources are depleted. Eventhe tree’s bark is used-as food for beavers-andwhite-tailed deer and rabbits browse its foliage.And because of its propensity to develop trunkcavities, silver maple often shelters breedmgbirds (woodpeckers, wood ducks, goldeneyes,owls) and nesting mammals (raccoons, opos-sums, squirrels, and bats).

Silver Maple in CultivationThe very aspects that make Acer saccharinumvaluable in the uncultivated environment makeit problematic in urban and suburban settings.

26

For example, the ease with which cavities formin its soft wood indicates the species’ suscepti-bility to storm damage, insect predation, andfungal infestation. Its generous scattering ofsamaras produces uncontrollable litter, and itsshallow, hydrophilic root system can wreakhavoc with paving and groundcovers, as well aschoke sewer lines and water mains.Michael Dirr’s description of Acer

saccharinum reflects these problems: "Brokenlimbs, limitcd ornamental attributes, and agross-feeding root system that buckles side-walks and clogs drains have inhibited its plant-ing. The fastest growing maple species, it is atthe same time the most susceptible to breakagein storms." However, he goes on to concludethat it is "[a] reasonable choice where few otherspecies will grow or wherethere is need for a truly fast- ¡growing shade tree." II %An assessment by Donald f

Culross Peattie thirty years (earlier, in A Natural His- ftory of Trees of Eastern and tCentral North Amenca, ¡differs greatly. Peattie’s

description of silver maple ¡verges on the exultant. °<

Unlike Dirr, he sees

in it not a battered treeof "limited ornamental

attributes," but one thatcan make "a railroad sta-tion look like a home, and[adds] a century to the

appearance of a villagestreet." For Peattie, Acersaccharinum is "a magnifi-cent Maple with short columnar trunk and longbranches which, at least in the lower half of thetree, sweep grandly down toward the ground andrise again near the tip in a gesture of airy grace.In the upper tree the branches are apt to be

ascending, so that the outline ... is somewhatpagoda-like." It is "wraith-like" m winter witha "fine, flaky, gray bark ... almost silvery"; itsfruits in spring are "dragonflies’ wings"; it is in"full beauty" in summer, when "every breath ofwind is sure to set the foliage to spinning," or instorms, when it is "whipped into continuous

whitecaps, a threshing and seething and flashing... silver." In the autumn, "it turns ... a paleclear yellow" while retaining its silver

undersurface, so that "the greenback leaf of yes-terday becomes a banknote." "

Peattie attributes the supposed flaws of Acersaccharinum to overly pragmatic landscapearchitects who complain of its susceptibility toinsect pests, ice and wind damage, and its com-paratively short life-complaints to which heresponds, "It may be that we should always listento cautious and sensible people, and not allowourselves to think too highly of a tree that willperhaps only live three times as long as we do." "

Clearly Peattie’s arguments, unlike Dirr’s, arebased on aesthetics rather than practicality.However, both writers limit their discussions to

Acer saccharinum as theyhave seen it in cultivation.

Indeed, most opinions of thespecies have been based onits behavior in situationswhere it would not natu-

rally occur. Just because aplant is adaptable enoughto grow on a certain sitedoes not mean it shouldbe planted there; and inap-propriate siting appearsto be a major source ofsilver maple’s present poorreputation.A review of the literature

shows that over the courseof this century, the use ofAcer saccharinum in culti-vated landscapes, particu-larly as a street tree, has

been viewed with increasing disapproval by"experts," including those of the U.S. Depart-ment of Agriculture’s Department of Forestry.The species continued to be popular in bothpublic and private landscape designs until wellinto the twentieth century-one of this

century’s most celebrated landscape designers,Beatrix Farrand, considered it "the most grace-ful American hardwood, far surpassing anyother tree." Nonetheless, in theory if not inpractice, a slow shift in attitude can be detectedat the turn of the century.

27

A silver maple is at left m this lush pluutmg by Beutmx Farrand at Dumbarton Oaks m Washmgton, DC.

The increasing negativity contrasts sharplywith the literature of the preceding decades.A. J. Downing in his influential and multi-editioned Treatise on the Theory and Practice ofLandscape Gardening ( 1841 not only includedAcer eriocarpum (as silver maple was thenknown) among "the finest hardy DeciduousTrees," he approvingly quoted Fran~ois AndreMichaux:

In no part of the Umted States is it more multi-

plied than in the western country, and nowhereis its vegetation more luxuriant than on thebanks of the Ohio. There, sometimes alone andsometimes mingled with the willow, which isfound along these waters, it contributes smgu-larly by its magmficent foliage to the embellish-ment of the scene. The brilliant white of theleaves beneath, forms a striking contrast withthe bright green above, and the alternate reflec-tion of the two surfaces in the water, heighten-

mg the beauty of this wonderful moving mirror,aids in forming an enchanting picture, which,during my long excursions in a canoe in theseregions of sohtude and silence, I contemplatedwith unweamed admiration.

-The North Amencan Sylva, 1817 7

Thirty years later, in his 1870 The Art ofBeautifying Suburban Home Grounds, Frank J.Scott, an influential authority on landscapes forsuburban estates who counted himself amongthe disciples of Downing, wrote:

There ought to be but one variety of street treeon the same block, at least, and the longer thecontinuity is kept up the nobler will be theeffect.... For wide avenues (where alone suchgreat spreading trees as the elm, sycamore, silvermaple, and silver poplar should be planted) ...thirty feet is the least distance that any streettrees should be planted from each other." "

28

E H. Wilson photographed this picturesque sllver maple m the valley of the Connecticut Rzver,Massachusetts, April 1925.

29

But what Scott gave with his right hand, hetook away with his left:

This native maple, so common on the banks ofwestern streams, has become, perhaps, too greata favorite for street plantmg.He found it wanting in comparison with the

sugar maple; furthermore:The head of the silver maple does not break intogood masses of light and shade until it is old, andm the mean time the projection of its numerous

spreadmg branches scatter the light on a greatnumber of small pomts, and develop no broad,deep, or well-defined shadows.

But the author of the 1897 Lawns andGardens: How to Plant and Beautify the HomeLot, the Pleasure Ground and Garden was notat all ambivalent; he nominated silver maple"the most useful and ornamental of our decidu-ous trees." In 1905, with The Tree Book, thepotential shortcomings of silver maple begm todominate the literature:

The silver maple is a tree to count upon.... It isa lazy man’s tree, for it comes vigorously fromseeds, and bears transplantmg, even when thereare radical changes m soil and m climate to bemet. It is a rapid grower, soon giving ampleshade. But rapid growth implies bmttle, weakwood, as a rule. Slow-growmg trees like elmsshould always be alternated with soft maples, toreplace them after their bnef race is run.

In 1920, serious concerns were being raised byno less an authority than the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture. In that year, its publication onstreet trees mcluded three objections to the useof silver maple:The first is its bnttle wood, which at an early ageis easily broken by ordmary wmdstorms andcauses it when a comparatively young tree tobecome unsightly. The second is its shallowrooting, which has a tendency to destroy pave-ments and also makes it difficult to grow grassnear the trees. The roots also will grow mto sew-ers. The third is a tendency to decay; the tips of

Alfred Rehder, Arboretum taxonomist and author of the Manual of Cultivated Trees and Shrubs, photographedthese silver maples m Geneva, New York, 1899.

30

the limbs frequently die, leaving the whole topof the tree bare of leaves and the wood decaysquickly, especially if the bark is broken. Forthis reason, it does not stand pruning as wellas most other street trees, and it probably hasbeen pruned more ruthlessly than any other tree,unless it is the Carolina Poplar.These recommendations were seconded

in 1922 by the president of the American TreeAssociation.

By the mid-1930s proponents of the specieshad to concede that " ... [the] Silver Maple hasfallen into disfavor for planting purposes, yet itstill remains the most frequently met and bestknown of the maples." In 1939, Clevelandmunicipal authorities noted with some exas-peration that although the disadvantages of thespecies were well known, Acer saccharinumcontinued to be the most frequently usedstreet tree:

... [its] only virtue seems to be that it is hardyin a city environment and is a fast grower. Forthe latter reason especially, and because it ischeap, it is the usual species chosen by the allot-ment operator for planting new streets, and out-lymg sections of the city are only too apt to carryon their newly developed tree-lawns a full quotaof silver maples.

In that same year the Massachusetts Forestand Park Association simply omitted A.

saccharinum from its lists of recommendedtrees. By the 1940s the omission from municipalplant lists was commonplace, and in some casesit appeared on lists of undesirable trees.The major reason for silver maple’s fall from

nineteenth-century grace into twentieth-century ill repute appears to be its indiscrimi-nate use as a street tree. Scott’s recommenda-tion in 1870 was predicated on a generousspatial allotment, and his image of a broadavenue with gracefully sweeping tree branchespredated the now-ubiquitous powerline. Theconflict between Acer saccharinum on the onehand and modern streets with their powerlinesand confined planting spaces on the other wasone that the tree could not win, since the prun-ing required to accommodate these new condi-tions would supposedly exacerbate its "weakwood" problem. Ironically, the very ability ofsilver maple to tolerate a wide range of soil and

Alfred Rehder photographed this silver maple mJamaica Plam, Massachusetts m summer 1900 andagam m wmter 1904

31

moisture conditions, together with its fast

growth, contributed to overexuberant use of thespecies in situations ill suited to its other bio-logical characteristics.

Interestingly, the British, who now use Acersaccharinum primarily as a specimen tree, havealways been and are still enamoured of it. "TheSilver-leaf Maple (Acer dasycarpum) is one ofthe most graceful of trees," the eminent Britishhorticulturist William Robinson wrote in 1907."[In] early spring it is covered with myriads ofreddish flowers; then its leaves, green above,silvery-white below, turn in autumn to a variedcolour." On a current British website, silvermaple is described as "by far the most success-ful of the eastern American Maples ... it formsa bushy crown of attractive green leaves eachspring, which seem to resist attack by insectsbetter than other nearby trees." This character-istic may in fact be a clue to the most appropri-ate use of A. saccharinum in the cultivatedlandscape. Rather than relegate it to sitesof "rugged conditions," as Dirr suggests, per-haps it should be positioned where it can

grow and spread, protected from strong wmds-the charmed circumstance of much of theBritish Isles.The recent development of several cultivars

may also encourage a reevaluation of the

species. The most widely available is ’SilverQueen’, which is nonseeding. Others-’Pyrami-dale’ is one-possess a strong central leader forstructural soundness. As Peattie says of it, they"impart to every streambank where they grow,to every big red Hoosier barn and little whitehouse, to all the village streets and the longstraight roads where they have been planted, anair at once of dignity and lively grace, a combi-nation rare in a tree as in a human." And whatcan Dirr say to that?

BibliographyDirr, Michael A 1998. Manual of Woody Landscape

Plants, 5th ed. Champaign, Illinois: StipesPubhshmg.

Dowmng, A. J 1841. A Treatise on the Theory andPractice of Landscape Gardemng New York:Wiley and Putnam, 141-142.

Finlay, M. C. 1934. Our Amencan Maples and SomeOthers. New York: The Georgian Press, 7

Finlay’s extended description of the species isas florid as Peattie’s.

Gabnel, William J. 1990. Acer saccharinum L. silvermaple In R. M. Burns & B. H. Honkala

(technical coordinators), Silvics of NorthAmenca, Volume 2, Hardwoods AgriculturalHandbook 654. Washington, DC. USDAForest Service; or http://mllow.ncfes.umn.edu 80/silvics-manual/volume-2/acer/ /sacchannum.htm.

Jonsson-Rose, N. 1897. Lawns and Gardens’ Howto Plant and Beautify the Home Lot, thePleasure Ground and Garden New York- G. P.Putnam’s Sons, 167.

Little, Jr., Elbert L. 1979. Checklist of Umted StatesTrees (Native and NaturahzedJ, AgnculturalHandbook 541 Washmgton, DC USDA ForestService

Maguire, D. 1985. Plants and Planting Design InD. Maguire, E. M. McPeck, and D Balmon,Beatrix Farrand’s American Landscapes.Sagaponack, New York: Sagapress, 88-90.

Mulford, F. L. 1920. Street Trees. Washtngton, DC:USDA, 29-30.

Pack, C. L. 1922. Trees as Good Citizens Washmgton,DC: The American Tree Association, 61.

Peattie, D C 1966 A Natural History of Trees ofEastern and Central North America, 2nd ed.New York: Bonanza Books, 463-465

Reynolds, H. A. 1939. Planmng to Plant Shade TreesBoston: Massachusetts Forest and ParkAssociation, Bulletm 162.

Robmson, W. 1907. The Garden Beautiful HomeWoods and Home Landscape London JohnMurray, 125.

Rogers, J E. 1906. The Tree Book New York: Doubleday,372.

Sargent, C. S 1890. The Silva of North Amemca, VolumeII. Boston: Houghton Miffhn, 1890

Scott, F J 1870. The Art of Beautifying Suburban HomeGrounds New York D. Appleton, 68, 344-345.

U S Army Corps of Engineers 1987. WetlandsDelmeation Manual, Appendix C. Online atwww.wetlands.com/mdex.html

USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountam Research Station.1998. Fire Effects Information System. Onlineat www.huntana com/feis/plants/tree/acesah.

Van Gelderen, D. M., P. C de Jong, and H. J. Oterdoom.1994. Maples of the World Portland, Oregon:Timber Press.

Williams, A. B. 1939. The Cleveland Shade Tree CensusCleveland: Department of Parks and PublicProperty, 27.

Harold Koda studies landscape architecture at Harvard’sGraduate School of Design.

Verdant Arches and Bowers:Artificial Adaptations of Trees

Frank j. Scott

The history of garden art is a history of ever-diminishinggarden size. For centuries garden treatises have helped

landowners adapt their ambitions to the realities ofconstricted places. Treatise writer and landscape designer

Frank Jesup Scott (1828-1919) is best known as an influential

promoter of post-Civil War suburban life and the now-

requisite lawn. His book The Art of Beautifying Suburban HomeGrounds of Small Extent was published in 1870, during the

economic recovery following the war when more and moreAmericans aspired to live in what Scott termed "half-country,

half-town,""the happy medium and the realizable ideal forthe great majority of well-to-do Americans."

Back then, well befo!e gardeners clamored forlow-maintenance plantings,yardworkwas serious,

time-consuming business. As a student of Andrew Jackson

Downing, Scott no doubt shared Downing’s belief that gardenbeauty reflects owner virtue. But Scott’s proposals in the

section excerpted here appeal to those of us who love treeswithout concern for morality. A recommendation to plantmore trees is convincing in itself, and the care required totrain them into arches and bowers a small price to pay. As

Scott put it,"Such arbors or arches can be made much more

quickly with carpentry and lovely vines, but the permanentand more unusual structures made with living trees must

nevertheless be more interesting."

All weave on high a verdant roof

That keeps the very sun aloof,

Making a twilight soft and green,

Within the column-vaulted scene.

Alfred B. Street

ARTIFICIAL ADAPTATIONS OF TREES

LL modes of growing trees for decorative or business purposes maybe considered artificial, but what is here meant by artificial adapta-~L tions are those less common forms of culture, by which shrubs andtrees are brought by skill, or persistent manipulation, into unusual forms for

special purposes. Hedges, screens, verdant arches, arbors, dwarfed trees, andall sorts of topiary work, are examples of such arts. It is sometimes objected tothese formally cut trees, that they are unnatural, and therefore inadmissiblein good decorative gardening. But houses, fences, and walks are not natural

productions, nor are lawns or flower-beds. All our home environments areartificial, and it is absurd to try to make them seem otherwise. The objectionarises from a common misunderstanding that all decorative gardening isincluded in, and subject to the rules of landscape-gardening: an unfortunateerror. The word landscape conveys an idea of breadth and extent of view, sothat landscape-gardening means gardening on a great scale, in imitation of

34

natural scenery. All the effects that can be produced artificially with smalltrees, by topiary arts, may seem puerile as parts of a landscape; but in thedimensions of a small lot, where each feature of the place needs to be made asfull of interest as possible, no such idea is conveyed. On the contrary, whateverlittle arts will render single sylvan objects more curious and attractive, or moreuseful for special purposes, may with propriety be availed of. It is as absurd to

apply all the rules of grand landscape-gardening to small places, as to imitate,in ordinary suburban dwellings the models of palaces. The only limit to the useof topiary work of the character we are about to treat of is, that whatever isdone shall be subsidiary to a general and harmonious plan of embellishment,and that the forms employed shall have some useful significance. -

***** ~

Ftc. 3 i .

There is no limit to the charming variety of effects that can be producedby training and pruning trees and large shrubs, both evergreen and

deciduous, into fanciful forms for gateway and garden arches, verdant

pavilions, and bowers. As evergreens are most constantly beautiful forsuch purposes, we will first call attention to a few forms in which theymay be used.

The hemlock can be treated as illustrated by figures 31, 32, and 33. Thefirst represents two hemlocks which have been planted two feet away from andon each side of an ordinary gateway. After five or six years’ growth theymay be high enough to begin work upon. A crotched stick about twofeet shorter than the distance of the trees apart, is stretched from one to

another, from six to seven feet from the ground, and fixed there to keep~ . the tops apart up to that point. Above the stick, the tops (supposing that

they are tall enough to admit of it) are to be bent towards each otheruntil they join, then twisted together, and tied so that they cannotuntwist. To do this so as to form a graceful arch, the trees must beabout eleven or twelve feet high. After they are firmly intertwined atthe top, which is usually in about two years’ growth, the clipping of the FIG. 32.

sides and tops can be going on to bring the arch to a form like that of figure 32,or to any similar design the proprietor may desire. An arch like the latter

figure may be brought to considerable perfection in the course of ten years.Figure 33 shows the probable appearance that a hemlock archway would

present in twenty years after planting, supposing the trees were allowed to

develop more naturally after their artificial character was well established.Such arches increase in quaint beauty as they grow old, and after the first ten

years will need but little care.

s 35

Figure 34 is intended to show another effect, which may be produced withthe same size trees, by joining and twisting together two side branches toform the arch, leaving the main stems to form two spiry sides, and trimmingto produce this form.

_

FIG. 33

Another mode that, if well executed, would produce a curious effect,is to unite the main stems as in the first mode, but instead of twistingthem to grow vertically over the middle of the gate, the twist should bemade horizontally, so that the tops would project sideways, as shownfarther on for elm-tree arches [figure 40]. This in time would developinto a wide crescent, inverted over the arch, or it might be likened to a

pair of huge horns guarding the arch. The variety of novel formsthat such trees can be made to assume after ten or twelve years’ growthwill surprise most persons. The same kind of arches on a smaller scalecan be made with the arborvitae, but the branches are not so pliable.

It may be used to advantage for narrower and lower arches.For arbors or bowers the hemlock is equally well adapted. We would suggest

as the simplest form to begin with, that four hemlocks be planted at the inter-section of two walks, say five or six feet apart. By cutting back the sidebranches to within one foot of the trunk, the growth at the tops will beincreased so that in five or six years they may be tall enough to allowthe opposite diagonal corners to be twisted together. If the trees areall thrifty, the twist will become fixed in two years. The fragrant and

graceful foliage of the hemlock can thus be made to embower retired

seats, or make quaint openings for diverging paths. Such arbors orarches can be made much more quickly with carpentry and lovely vines,but the permanent and more unusual structures made with living treesmust nevertheless be more interesting. FIG 34

The hemlock may be used to make artificial pavilions of a still larger kind iftrained through a period of ten or fifteen years. Suppose six trees to be plantedat the corners of a hexagon ten or twelve feet in diameter. Let them feather

naturally to the ground on the outside of the group, and trim to within one ortwo feet of the trunks on the inside. When twelve feet high, pass a rope aroundthe circle, on a level, two or three feet below their tops, so as to draw themtowards the centre of the circle as far as the main stems may be safely bent,which will probably be about three feet inside of the perpendicular. If thecircle is twelve feet in diameter, this will still leave six feet unenclosed at the

top. The rope is to be left around them until the trees have grown five to sixfeet higher, when another binding will bring their tops together, and if they are

long enough they may be twisted together.

36 L

Figure 35 is a section of the stems alone, to illustrate the generalform intended. When the six trees are together at the centre theyshould be made to grow like one, and the branches that grow from

the upper sides of the curved stems must be cut back to preventthem from becoming leaders. Figure 36 shows one development ofthis mode of training; the sides and top having been trimmed inmosque-dome form, the curve of the living frame of the pavilion --

being well adapted to produce it. It will require from twelve to fifteen-

FIG. 35.

years to perfect such a pavilion, but the group will be pretty, and interestingat every stage of its growth. In this, as in most other things in life, it is well toremember Shakespeare’s lines-

What’s won is done;-joy’s soul lies in the doing.

A pretty variation of the above plan, for larger verdant pavilions, may becreated by simply bending the tree-tops towards the centre in the mannerabove described, but not close together, leaving a circular opening six feet wideover the centre, in the manner of a dome sky-light.

FIG. 36.

The fir trees, though fine for lofty screens or hedges, have morerigid wood, and do not bear so much bending; still very beautifulresults of a similar kind may be produced with the Norwayspruce, which is the best of the firs for this purpose. It bears

cutting quite as well as the hemlock.The Cypressus Lawsoniana (Chamaecyparas ZawsonianaJ

which combines a rapid growth, and the freedom of the hemlockwith arborvitae-like foliage, will be an admirable tree for largeworks of this kind, if it continues to prove hardy.The pines are mostly disposed to drop their lower limbs as they

increase in height, and this peculiarity may be availed of inproducing other forms of growth. If, for instance, it is desired tomake an evergreen umbrage in which to take tea out of doors

in summer, it may be provided by planting four white pines, say twelve feetapart each way, and when they are from eight to ten feet high, cutting theirleaders out so as to leave a tier of branches as nearly as possible at the sameheight on the four trees.The following year see to it that none of these upper branches turn up to

make leaders, and if necessary tie them down to a horizontal direction. Byattending to this for two years the top tier of shoots will make a horizontalgrowth, which will meet in a few years overhead, and form a table-like top offoliage. But to insure this effect, the tree must be watched for some years to

37

prevent any strong shoots from taking an upward lead, and thus draw the sapaway from the horizontal branches.

After these have met overhead, and form a sufficient shade, the part above

may be allowed to grow as it will. The check and change in the growth of thetrees by such manipulation, carried on for several years, insures a novel and

picturesque form for the group that will be permanent. As the white pineattains great size at maturity, it is not well to attempt such an arbor on quitesmall grounds.Deciduous trees being more subject to insects on their foliage, are less

desirable than evergreens for these uses, but they spread at the top more

rapidly, can be more quickly grown to the required forms, and are covered atcertain seasons with beautiful and fragrant blossoms; so that in variety ofattractions some of them are unequalled by any evergreens. The latter wear

throughout the year the beauty of constant cheerfulness, while the former,with the changing seasons, are alternately barren of graces, or bending with

foliage and glowing with blossoms.

Fm. 37.

For archways there are no finer deciduous trees than the

English hawthorns and the double flowering scarlet thorn,Crat~gus coccinnea fZore plena (C. pedicellata~. They can be

planted at the sides of footpath gates, in the same manner asrecommended for the hemlock, and it will only be necessary totrim them on the inside, so as to keep the opening unencum-bered ; as the hawthorns bloom best on their extended garland-

like branches. But they should be trimmed enough to prevent any decidedlystraggling outline, to show that they are intended as artificial adaptations fora purpose. Figure 37 shows a suitable form for a hawthorn arch.For bowers, or umbrageous groups surrounded by open sunny ground, the

same form suggested for hemlock and pines is adapted to the hawthorns; viz.,planting in a square or circle so that the interior can be used for a cool summerresort for smoking or reading, a place to take tea, or a children’s playhouse. Adense canopy of leaves forms the coolest of shades in the hot hours of summer

days. To form such a canopy with hawthorns will require about ten years, and

may be made by planting six trees in a hexagonal form. All our readers maynot remember that if they make a circle of any radius, that radius applied from

point to point on the circle will mark the six points of a hexagon.The following varieties of hawthorn are recommended for five of these places,

viz.: the common white, Cr~zt~gus oxyacantha (C. laeuigataJ, the pink flowered,C. o. rosea, the dark red, C. o. punicea, the double red, C. o. punicea flore plena,the double white, C. o. multiplex, and for the sixth the double scarlet thorn,

38 ~ z

C. coccinnea flore plena. These will in time make a bower of exquisite beautyin the time of bloom, and of such full and glossy foliage that it will have greatbeauty during all the leafy season. After such bowers are well thickenedoverhead by the annual cutting back of the rankest upright growth, they are

interesting objects even in winter, by the masses of snow borne on their flat

tops, and the contrast presented between the deep shadows under them, andthe brightness of the snow around.The hawthorns are all bushy when young, and their development into

overarching trees will be somewhat slower than that of the following decidu-ous trees.

The sassafras is eminently adapted to form a useful bower of the kind abovedescribed, as it naturally assumes a parasol-like top, grows rapidly, and

Fro. 38.

dispenses with its bottom limbs quickly. Being disposed toform crooked stems, some care must be used in choosingstraight-bodied thrifty nursery trees, and protecting the

. trunks until they are large enough not to need it. Six thriftytrees will grow into a perfect canopy, of the size suggested,within five years, if their central stems are cut back, and keptto a height of about eight feet.For the next five years all the upright growth at their tops

should be annually cut back, so that the trees will not exceed twelve feet in

height. Afterwards they may be allowed to grow naturally; but their greatestbeauty will not be attained in less than fifteen or twenty years. Figure 38shows the appearance they should make in ten or twelve years after planting.Next to the sassafras, probably the judas or redbud trees, Cercis canadensis

and C. siliquastrum, form most naturally into this kind of flat-roofed bower.The White-flowered dogwood, Cornus florida, is also adapted to the same use.Both spread lower than the sassafras, but do not grow so rapidly when young.The moose-wood or striped-barked maple [Acer pensylvanicum), on the otherhand, attains the height required in a single season, and its green and yellow-striped bark is ornamental. The branches, after the trunk has attained the

height of ten or fifteen feet, radiate naturally to form a flat-arched head, and

grow much slower than the first vigorous growth of the stem would lead oneto suppose. The foliage is large and coarse, but the form of the tree is suitedto the purpose under consideration. Its large racemes of winged seeds, of a

pinkish color, are very showy in August. The paper mulberry is also a valuabletree for such uses, and attains the required size and density of head in lesstime than any of the others. The foliage is unusually abundant and of a darkgreen color.

39

Perhaps the most beautiful of all small trees for such purposes is the

weeping Japan sophora [now Styphnolobium japonicum]. It is grafted fromseven to ten feet high on other stocks, and for many years its growth is slow;but if one will have the patience to wait, a more charming and curious bowercan be made with a circle of sophoras than of any tree we know of....We have named only a few of the trees which may be made

use of for growing these artificial bowers. For very small groundsthere are many arboreous shrubs which may be used to producesimilar effects on the inside, and appear as naturally grown groupson the outside....

Elms may be used with good effect for arches of a larger growththan those already suggested. The adjoining sketch, figure 39, willillustrate one mode of procedure, where there is room for largetrees. Two common weeping elms are to be chosen, each having two Fic. 39·

diverging branches at the height of six to eight feet from the ground, and to beso planted that the extension of these branches will be parallel with the fence.For a foot-walk gate-way, plant them about two feet back from the fence-line,

and the same distance, or less, from the walk. After the trees have grown so

that the branches towards the gate are long enough to be connected, as shown -

in figure 39, and upwards of half an inch in diameter, they may be broughttogether and twisted round and round each other vertically, and tied togetherso that they cannot untwist; or they may be grafted together as shown in thesketch above. The twist will, however, be the strongest and simplest mode.The branches that proceed from the twisted ones below the union, must be

kept cut back to within two or three feet, so as to encourage the strongestgrowth in the part above the twist. The next spring, if these united branches

FIG. 40.

have done well, the outer branches of both trees maybe cut off at a, a, and grafted with scions of theScamston elm [a weeping form]. If the grafts take,and the growth and trimming of all parts are properlyattended to, the lower growth forming the gatewayarch should be all Scamston elm, crowned over thecentre with a loftier common elm, presenting an

appearance in the course of ten years something likethe accompanying engraving.The Scamston elm grows with great vigor in a

horizontal and downward direction only, and its longannual shoots, and dark glossy leaves overlap eachother so closely that an arch cut in one side has the

40

appearance of being cut through a mound of solid verdure. Their tops are flatlyrounded like unfinished hay-stacks, and the common elm emerging from thecentre (as shown in the engraving), bending its long arms over the former witha freer growth, might, we think, present a combination of grotesque grace lessformal in expression than our illustration.

~

FIG. 41.

A broad flat-topped arch of a similar character may be made by graft-ing all four of the branches with the Scamston elm at a, a, figure 39,and the points opposite. This may be perfected more quickly.For an archway over a carriage entrance two common elms may

be planted by the sides of the gateway, and when their side branchesare long enough, may be twisted round and round each other, andtied together, and the other parts of the tree trimmed to develop the

best growth of the branches depended on to form the arch. Figure 41 illustratesthe appearance of the trees without their leaves a year or two after the twist

has been made.

U.S. POSTAL SERVICESTATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCULATION

(Required by 39 U.S.C. 3685)1. Publication Title. Arnoldia. 2. Publication No: 0004-2633. 3 Filing Date: 26 October 1999 4 Issue Frequency: Quarterly. 5.No. of Issues Published Annually: 4 6. Annual Subscription Price $20.00 domestic; $25.00 foreign 7 Complete MailingAddress of Known Office of Publication: Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, Suffolk County, MA 02130-3500 8Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters of General Busmess Office of Publisher~ Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, JamaicaPlain, Suffolk County, MA 02130-3500 9 Full Names and Complete Mailing Address of Publisher, Editor, and ManagingEditor- Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plam, Suffolk County, MA 02130-3500, publisher; Karen Madsen, ArnoldArboretum, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130-3500, editor. 10. Owner: The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University,125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, Suffolk County, MA 02130-3500 11 Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other SecurityHolders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities: none. 12. The pur-pose, function, and nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt status for federal mcome tax purposes have notchanged during the preceding 12 months. 13. Publication Name: Arnoldia. 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data. Fall 1999 15Extent and Nature of Circulation. a. Total No. Copies Average No Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 4,500.Actual No Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date 4,500. b. Paid and/or Requested Circulation. (1) SalesThrough Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, and Counter Sales. Average No Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12Months. none. Actual No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date: none. (2) Paid and/or Requested Mail Sub-scriptions. Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months. 3,194. Actual No. Copies of Single Issue PublishedNearest to Filing Date’ 2,771. c. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation Average No Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12Months’ 3,194. Actual No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date: 2,771. d. Free Distribution by Mail. Aver-age No. Copies Each Issue During Precedmg 12 Months 45 Actual No Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to FilingDate: 40. e. Free Distribution Outside the Mail. Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 150. Actual No.Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date. 140. f Total Free Distribution. Average No Copies Each Issue Dur-ing Precedmg 12 Months: 195. Actual No Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date: 180. g. Total Distribution’Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: 3,389. Actual No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest toFiling Date: 2,951 h Copies Not Distributed. (1) Office Use, Leftovers, SpoMed. Average No Copies Each Issue During Pre-ceding 12 Months’ 1,111. Actual No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date’ 1,549. (2) Return from newsagents. Average No Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months: none Actual No Copies of Single Issue Published Near-est to Filing Date: none. i. Total. Average No. Copies Each Issue Durmg Preceding 12 Months: 4,500. Actual No. Copies of SingleIssue Published Nearest to Filing Date’ 4,500 Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation. Average No Copies Each IssueDuring Preceding 12 Months: 76%. Actual No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date. 66%. I certify that allinformation furnished on this form is true and complete Karen Madsen, Editor.

The Arnold ArboretumF A L L - ,. 5 . 1 9 9 9

Campaign Approaches a Successful ConclusionRobert E. Cook, Director

Charles Sprague Sargent was aremarkable fundraiser in his time,and after. He died in 1927, leav-

ing behind a fifty-four-year recordof contributions from friends

and supporters. Their generosityadded to the original bequest of$100,000 that came from theestate of James Arnold in 1872.Those same friends and supportersconducted a campaign followingSargent’s death that raised over$1,000,000 for a memorialendowment. During the nextthirty years, large bequests fromthe Case family and from MarthaDana Mercer continued to benefit

the growing programs of the

Arboretum; but no formal, broad-based fundraising campaign wasmounted until the last decade of

this century. In 1994 we set a

goal of $8,250,000 which, atthat time, was considered veryambitious for an institution with

no recent history of such an orga-nized effort.

I am pleased to report that, asof November 1 of this year, we

have raised $7,950,000 in pledgesand outright gifts. Many of thesegifts are intended by their donorsto be added to endowments to

support our research and educa-

tion programs in perpetuity. I am

confident that, sometime early inthe new millenium, we willachieve the goal set five years ago.

The success of our campaignwas anchored by three major giftsfrom long-time friends of the

Arboretum. The family of GeorgePutnam established an endow-

ment of over $1,000,000 to sup-port the award of Katharine H.

Putnam Fellowships at the ArnoldArboretum for research and

related activities that use our

exceptional collection of shrubsand trees. The extended

Hunnewell family pledged toraise $1,000,000 to support therenovation of our main facility,the Hunnewell Building, built in1892 through the generosity ofHoratio Hollis Hunnewell.

Finally, an anonymous donorbequeathed the Arboretum a giftof $1,000,000 to endow the Hor-ticultural Library in JamaicaPlain, thereby ensuring the con-

unuing strength of one ofBoston’s finest collections of

botanical books and journals.For the first time, our cam-

paign was conducted as part of

Harvard’s university-wide effort.As such, perhaps our greatestaccomplishment is a reaffirmationof the Arboretum’s traditional

mission to increase our knowledgeof woody plants and to dissemi-nate that knowledge througheducation, including public edu-cation. In executing this mission

in a magnificent landscape opento the public, we serve as one ofthe university’s most importantcontributions to the people ofgreater Boston and lovers of trees

worldwide.

NewTranslation of Willow MonographIrina Kadis, Curatorial Assistant

Willows have long been knownas a difficult genus. Few beacons

cast light on the seas of confusionsurrounding them. Since 1968,Russian-speaking readers couldturn to an excellent review of the

genus Salzx by the authority oncatkin-bearing plants, Alexei K.Skvortsov. The idea of translatingthis monograph, which describes135 of the Eurasian willow spe-cies, many of which also occur inNorth Amenca, captured me morethan five years ago in the libraryof the Arnold Arboretum. I came

. conttnued on page 2

©

~ front page I

across a copy of the book in the

original Russian, so familiar tome, but useless to everyone else.I had no idea how long it wouldtake me to translate the book;indeed, I would never have com-

pleted this project were it not forthe enthusiasm and friendly sup-port I found on both sides of

the Atlantic.

From the very beginning (andthe beginning was the most diffi-cult !), I was encouraged andhelped at the Arboretum and evengranted a trip to Finland when theUniversity of Joensuu agreed topublish the translation as a part oftheir Faculty of Mathematics andNatural Sciences Report Series.

This was not just a matter of goodluck. A group of scientists work-

ing in Finland under the leader-

ship of Jorma Tahvanamen hadlong been studying the taxonomyand ecology of willow communi-ties. From their perspective, the

need for the book was urgent and

obvious. A Canadian botanist,renowned specialist on the willowsof the New World and an old

friend of A. K. Skvortsov, GeorgeArgus helped with the scientificeditmg of the translation. AlexeiZinovjev, an entomologist fromSt. Petersburg Zoological Institutewho studies willows as host plantsof insects, coordinated all thework in both hemispheres and alsoundertook the technical part:

compilation of computerizedimages of species distribution

maps and layout of the entiremanuscript. Luckily for me,Professor Skvortsov came from

Moscow to Boston twice duringthese five years. Our discussions

provided me with importantinsights.

Although some of the membersof our international team never

met, all the same, we worked effi-

ciently. Thanks to the effort andcommitment of Russian, Ameri-can, Canadian, and Finnish scien-tists, Wzllowr of Rucrza andAdjacent Countrze.r is now availableat University of Joensuu(merm.kmnunen@loensuu.fi;ISBN 951-708-766-7).

Arboretum Council Fall MeetingA visit to the site of the proposed Shrub and Vine Garden was one ofthe highlights of the annual fall meeting of the Arboretum Council,held on October 13, 1999. Council members discussed plans for thegarden with Robert E. Cook, director, and Peter Del Tredici, director ofliving collections, as they reviewed the architect’s model and drawings.They then walked the site of the proposed garden. Other events of theday included a tour of Chinese Path and a presentation on the digitiza-tion of the Arboretum’s plant exploration records.

In this photograph of the model of the proposed Shrub and Vine Garden,the Dana Greenhouses are above the garden and Centre Street is to the right.

Staff UpdateA series of recent staff changesand additions have occurred at the

Arboretum. In the developmentdepartment we have appointedKaren O’Connell, formerly mem-bership coordinator, as develop-ment manager overseeing

membership and the annual fund,as well as the finish of the capitalcampaign. We have asked Sheila

Baskm, formerly secretary toseveral departments, to join thedepartment as developmentassistant.

Sarah Carrier, who was hiredin September to work at the frontdesk, has been asked to assist withthe Institute for Cultural Land-

scape Studies one day a week aswell. Sarah comes to the Arbore-

tum from the Society for thePreservation of New EnglandAntiquities (SPNEA), where shehelped conduct plant inventoriesfor their historic sites. Sarah

earned her Bachelor of Arts degreein environmental geography fromClark University.

~ ~ contrnued on page 4

n

AABGA Visits theArboretumEllen Bennett, Manager ofHorticultural Information

Regional meetings of publicgarden professionals serve asimportant sources of practicalinformation and as opportunitiesto network with peers. On Octo-

ber 28 and 29, the Northeast

Region of the American Associa-tion of Botanical Gardens and

Arboreta (AABGA) held its 1999

meeting. The first day of the con-ference was hosted by the Arnold,as 95 participants descended uponthe site for a day of presentationson curation and landscape changeover time Speakers hailed fromthroughout, and beyond, theNortheast, including representa-tion from the Connecticut CollegeArboretum, the Holden Arbore-tum, New York Botanical Garden,and the Olmsted Center for Land-

scape Preservation as well as this

arboretum. After lunch in the Rose

Garden, Arboretum staff led par-ticipants on tours of the groundsand gave demonstrations in the

curation department and the DanaGreenhouses. The day ended witha wonderful reception at the

Fredenck Law Olmsted National

Histonc Site in Brooklme.

The second day was hosted byMount Auburn Cemetery in Cam-

bndge. The focus of the day was

master planning in the public gar-den realm, with speakers fromMount Auburn, Cornell Planta-tions, the Holden Arboretum, andTower Hill Botanic Garden.

Again, participants were treatedto tours of Mount Auburn’s

grounds, and a tour of HarvardYard. After a marvelous closingreception in Harvard Yard, all

agreed that the meeting had beena resounding success.

New Funding for School ProgramsThe education department hasbeen awarded two new grants for

the coming year to explore howthe Arboretum might help schoolscreate school-based, student-documented arboreta that would

enable elementary students to usethe trees in their schoolyards forlong-term, inquiry-oriented stud-ies. Our plan is to explore theissues related to such an endeavor

during this school year in order toarticulate and secure funding for amodel program that could be used

by schools nationwide. A pilotgrant from the Boston SchoolyardInitiative (a public-private part-nership that is supporting theredesign and construction of theschoolyards of Boston schools) willpermit us to explore these teach-ing and learning issues in partner-

ship with the Hale School. Ourwork with teachers at the Hale

School will center on ways that a

schoolyard arboretum-specifi-cally, the initial selection, place-ment, and documentation of a

collection of trees-can become

part of the science curriculum. We

anticipate that our National Sci-ence Foundation-funded project,Seasonal Investigations, can thenbe used in subsequent years tosupport continued observation and

documentation of those trees.

A planmng grant from theNational Science Foundation will

help us leverage this pilot studyby allowing us to create two pro-totype technology tools designedto support tasks related to the cre-

ation and documentation of an

arboretum. The first tool will

help students to make informeddecisions about trees to include in

their schoolyard arboretum byallowing them to search out spe-cific variables, such as droughttolerance or bloom schedule. The

second tool will help them orga-nize their data about each tree and

allow them to keep detailed recordsthat can be used by subsequentgroups of students over time.

We believe that these efforts

will help us develop a model forthe creation and documentation of

a schoolyard arboretum that canbecome useful for schools across

the country. We look forward

to the new challenge that thisidea offers. For more information

about this project, please contactCandace Julyan at 617/524-1718x 109.

EN

from page 2

During Peter Del Tredici’ssix-month sabbatical at Harvard

Forest, Tom Ward, greenhousemanager and plant propagator, isserving as interim director of liv-

ing collections. In addition, with anumber of major projects on the

grounds coming up, we haveopened a new position for a land-scape project manager and have

appointed Laura Tenny Brogna,

who was a Putnam Fellow, to that

position. Laura will also be work-

ing on projects for the Institutefor Cultural Landscape Studies.Finally, we have asked InnaKadis, curatonal assistant, toincrease her hours to provide addi-tional time working in the her-barium at the Arboretum.

Staff additions in Cambndgeinclude a new Putnam Fellow, Dr.Lisa Schulthies who will arrive in

January from Berkeley to workin the laboratory of MichaelDonoghue, using the living col-lections here, specifically, thegenus Rzber. A Mercer Fellow, Dr.

Hans-Joachim Esser will be arriv-ing from Germany in March toconduct systematic studies and

collecting expeditions. We arealso adding a new staff member,Dr. David Middleton, as tropicalplant systematist, in November.

Recent Construction Improves Neighborhood ConditionsLaura Tenny Brogna, Landscape Project Manager

Representatives of regional andlocal water agencies and their con-

struction crews were in abundance

on the Arboretum grounds inrecent months. The best evidence

is the new stormwater collection

system designed and constructedby the Boston Water and SewerCommission (BWSC) and FeeneyBrothers Excavation Corporationof Dorchester.

Improvements were directed bythe City of Boston to correct inad-

equate drain systems that have

been overloaded in heavy storms,contributing to past flooding inthe neighborhood of ArchdaleRoad, near Peters Hill. The low-

lying houses and roads were builton filled wetlands in the 19th cen-

tury ; that plus the confluence ofseveral regional and local wastewa-ter pipe systems have made the

area highly vulnerable to flooding.The work was simple in con-

cept, difficult in execution. First

came the excavation of a large,crescent-shaped, earthen basin forcollection of stormwater runoff

from Peters Hill. Then two pipes,30 inches in diameter, wereinstalled at the low end of the

basin to divert water from the

Archdale Road neighborhood.Instead, it carries water under

Newly constructed drainage swale on Peters Hill.

South Street and releases it into

the low-lying land by the railroadbed (m the area known informallyas the South Street Tract of the

Arboretum). About 300 feet of36-inch concrete piping was

required to help the water overand beyond a nse in the land inthe South Street Tract.

A plus for the Arboretum inthis operation was the removal of

several truckloads of rubble that

were deposited there in the 1980sduring construction of the ForestHills MBTA station. The con-

struction also gave us the opportu-

nity to rebmld the stone wall atthe base of Peters Hill; some of

the large granite blocks were sal-

vaged from work on the Big Dig.In the process, stone steps were

placed in the wall to accommodateneighborhood residents who pre-viously had to scale it to enterPeters Hill. Structural repairs arenow complete and regradmg andother clean-up work should befinished shortly.

Just as construction was fin-ished, tropical storm Floyd blewin to test the system. BWSC and

Arboretum staffs were pleased tosee it operating well during andafter the storm; several feet of

water collected in the South

Street Tract.