- University of California, Santa Cruz, Arboretum
The University of California, Santa Cruz, Arboretum, also called the UCSC Arboretum, is located on the campus of the
University of California, Santa Cruz , inSanta Cruz, California , USA.The
Arboretum , and in fact the entire campus, were originally part of the larger property of pioneer Henry Cowell. The Arboretum site has remarkable climatic and topographic diversity and a wide variety of soils, since the underlying rocks includegranite ,schist ,limestone , and severalsandstone s. The Arboretum officially started in 1964 with about 90 species ofeucalyptus . Its gradual expansion has focused mainly on plants of the Southern Hemisphere, and now includes a comprehensive collection ofconifer s, exoticSouth Africa nprotea s,Australia n plants, and a fine collection of "living fossil s". Major collections are as follows:*
Australia n Garden - over 2,000 species, forms, and cultivars (out of some 20,000 species native to the subcontinent), and believed to be the largest collection of Australian plants outside Australia. The gardens include manyacacia s; many members of the fragrantMyrtle family such asEucalyptus ,Callistemon ,Melaleuca , andLeptospermum ; members of theProtea family;grevillea s;banksia s; andwaratah ("Telopea speciosissima"). The Elvenia J. Slosson Research Gardens (1978) support testing of new Australian ornamentals.* California Garden - Most noteworthy are the
ponderosa pine s, along withcoast redwood s,Douglas fir s,coast live oak s, California bays,willow s,cottonwood s, madrones, and buckeyes. Other popular plants includeEpilobium (formerly "Zauschneria"), bush anemone ("Carpenteria californica"), California lilacs ("Ceanothus" spp.),monkeyflower s ("Diplacus " spp.),buckwheat s ("Eriogonum spp."), woolly blue curls ("Trichostema lanatum "),salvia s, andflannelbush or Fremontia ("Fremontodendron" spp.). The Arboretum also contains an extensive collection of native bulbs, and several rare Channel Island plants including theSanta Cruz Island bush mallow ("Malacothamnus fasciculatus" var. "nesioticus"), islandbarberry ("Berberis pinnata" ssp. "insularis"), andbush poppy ("Dendromecon " spp.). The collection also emphasizes plants native to theSanta Cruz Mountains and the Santa Lucia Mountains inMonterey County , including the endangered Santa Cruz Cypress ("Cupressus abramsiana") and the rare Santa Lucia fir ("Abies bracteata").*
South Africa n Garden - A variety ofProteaceae , includingLeucadendron s such as the silver tree ("Leucadendron argenteum"),Leucospermum , and one of the largest collections of members of the genus "Erica " (Cape heaths) outside South Africa.* Edward D. Landels
New Zealand Garden - dedicated in 1984, the garden includesLily Family members,New Zealand flax (phormium s),pittosporum trees, themanuka or tea tree ("Leptospermum scopariumy"), and a very youngkauri forest.*
Eucalyptus Grove - mainly specimens donated by Max Watson, including species rare in nature or in California plantings.* Conifers - A particularly good collection, representing nearly all known genera of conifers, with the exception of a genus unknown outside of
China and a parasiticNew Caledonia n genus.* Primitive Flowering Plants - A one-of-a-kind collection of "
living fossil s" among flowering plants, of great interest for the study ofevolution .* Aroma Garden - many mints,
salvia s,lavender s,oregano s,thyme s, and other drought-tolerant perennials and shrubs.* Rare
Fruit Exhibit - unusual fruit-bearing plants.* Laurasian Forest - various interesting North American plants, particularly high-alititude Mexican species.
*
Cactus &Succulent Garden - with many plants from the collections ofVictor Reiter , noted plant breeder.*
South America n - materials of instructional value, planted beside the New Zealand Garden for comparison toNew Zealand andChile an flora.See also
*
List of botanical gardens in the United States
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