Mast Arboretum
Encyclopedia
Mast Arboretum is an arboretum
and botanical garden
on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University
in Nacogdoches, Texas
. It is open daily without charge.
The arboretum began in 1985 as a landscape plant materials class project, and has grown its collections through exchanges with the Arnold Arboretum, the United States National Arboretum
, the North Carolina State University Arboretum, and others.
The arboretum contains more than 3,000 plant species and 20 theme gardens, including butterfly, conifer, fern
, herb
, heritage
, and holly
gardens, a pitcher plant
bog, Asian valley, beehive exhibit, and a vine collection.
The Ruby Mize Azalea Garden (8 acres) is of particular interest: It was created between 1997–2001, and now contains some 7,000 azalea
s, 200 camellia
s, 200 Japanese maple varieties, 180 hydrangea
varieties, and 400 other rare ornamental trees and shrubs.
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
and botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University
Stephen F. Austin State University
Stephen F. Austin State University is a public university located in Nacogdoches, Texas, United States. Founded as a teachers' college in 1923, the university was named after one of Texas' founding fathers, Stephen F. Austin. Its campus resides on part of the homestead of another Texas founding...
in Nacogdoches, Texas
Nacogdoches, Texas
Nacogdoches is a city in Nacogdoches County, Texas, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the city's population to be 32,996. It is the county seat of Nacogdoches County and is situated in East Texas. Nacogdoches is a sister city of Natchitoches, Louisiana.Nacogdoches is the home of...
. It is open daily without charge.
The arboretum began in 1985 as a landscape plant materials class project, and has grown its collections through exchanges with the Arnold Arboretum, the United States National Arboretum
United States National Arboretum
The United States National Arboretum is an arboretum in Washington, D.C., operated by the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service as a division of the Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center...
, the North Carolina State University Arboretum, and others.
The arboretum contains more than 3,000 plant species and 20 theme gardens, including butterfly, conifer, fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
, herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
, heritage
Natural heritage
Natural heritage is the legacy of natural objects and intangible attributes encompassing the countryside and natural environment, including flora and fauna, scientifically known as biodiversity, and geology and landforms ....
, and holly
Holly
Ilex) is a genus of 400 to 600 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. The species are evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones world wide....
gardens, a pitcher plant
Pitcher plant
Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over...
bog, Asian valley, beehive exhibit, and a vine collection.
The Ruby Mize Azalea Garden (8 acres) is of particular interest: It was created between 1997–2001, and now contains some 7,000 azalea
Azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...
s, 200 camellia
Camellia
Camellia, the camellias, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalaya east to Korea and Indonesia. There are 100–250 described species, with some controversy over the exact number...
s, 200 Japanese maple varieties, 180 hydrangea
Hydrangea
Hydrangea is a genus of about 70 to 75 species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia and North and South America. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea...
varieties, and 400 other rare ornamental trees and shrubs.