Out and About in the Arboretum

As you are out and about Campus over the holiday season, you are sure to enjoy the variety of wreaths on the front doors of our resident’s homes. Christmas wreaths have been used as a decorative sign of Christmas for hundreds of years. They are used to adorn any part of one’s home, inside or out. In many homes the wreath is also considered a symbol of growth and everlasting life.

Typical examples of conifers include cedars, firs, cypresses, junipers, and pines. Conifers are characterized by seed-bearing cones. Did you know that most conifers bear both male and female cones on the same tree? All are wind-pollinated, so that when pollinated cones ripen, the seeds are then dispersed either by being dropped, eaten or carried away by wildlife.

Our residents on the Medford Campus like to have some holiday fun! Check out the knobs on the Bald Cypress, Taxodium distichum, located right by the Nature Center on the Medford Campus. The red elf hats add some holiday fun to this beautiful setting!

Paperbark maple, Acer griseum, is especially attractive at this time of the year, as the leaves have dropped, and you can focus on the bark. The exfoliating bark is rather attractive as it peels into large curls which remain on the tree, rather than falling to the ground. When the sun hits the tree at just the right angle, there is a wonderful copper glow to enjoy.

Not all holly trees have red berries! Check out the Yellow-Fruited American Holly (Ilex opaca xanthocarpa). This native evergreen provides treats for the birds to enjoy and is a lovely addition to our collection.

As you enter the Lumberton Campus, a wonderful stand of Dawn Redwoods, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, greets all who enter. An ancient tree that knew the dinosaurs, Dawn Redwood is a deciduous conifer. It has a neat pyramidal shape, maturing into a rounded crown. The bright green, feathery leaves turn orange-brown or copper color in the fall.