Wellesley College Botanic Gardens
Encyclopedia
The Wellesley College Botanic Gardens (22 acres) are botanical garden
s located on the campus of Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts
. They are open daily without charge.
The gardens contain more than 500 species
of woody plants, in 53 families, displayed in three major collections:
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...
s located on the campus of Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of Greater Boston. The population was 27,982 at the time of the 2010 census.It is best known as the home of Wellesley College and Babson College...
. They are open daily without charge.
The gardens contain more than 500 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of woody plants, in 53 families, displayed in three major collections:
- Alexandra Botanic Garden - established in 1906 in honor of Alexandra Severance, with today's gardens created in 1920-1921. The garden contains ponds, meadows, a maple swamp, collections of roseRoseA rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
s, viburnumViburnumViburnum is a genus of about 150–175 species of shrubs or small trees in the moschatel family, Adoxaceae. Its current classification is based on molecular phylogeny...
s, heatherCallunaCalluna vulgaris is the sole species in the genus Calluna in the family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing perennial shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found widely in Europe and Asia Minor on acidic soils in open sunny situations and in moderate shade...
, etc., in naturalistic landscapes. It also contains the Cameron Garden, a sensory garden, and the Creighton Educational Garden, a small collection of alpine plantAlpine plantAlpine plants are plants that grow in the alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. Alpine plants grow together as a plant community in alpine tundra.-Alpine plant diversity:...
s and miniature conifers.
- H. H. Hunnewell Arboretum - named in honor of benefactor Horatio Hollis Hunnewell. A fine collection of rhododendronRhododendronRhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
s and conifers, with flowering crabapples and cherries, TiliaTiliaTilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America...
, hollies, ginkgoGinkgoGinkgo , also spelled gingko and known as the Maidenhair Tree, is a unique species of tree with no close living relatives...
, dogwood, birches, Japanese maples, and many other deciduous hardwoods. The arboretum contains notable specimens of Liriodendron tulipiferaLiriodendron tulipiferaLiriodendron tulipifera, commonly known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tuliptree, tulip poplar or yellow poplar, is the Western Hemisphere representative of the two-species genus Liriodendron, and the tallest eastern hardwood...
, Metasequoia glyptostroboidesMetasequoia glyptostroboidesMetasequoia glyptostroboides, the dawn redwood, is a fast-growing, critically endangered deciduous conifer tree, sole living species of the genus Metasequoia, and one of three species of conifers known as redwoods. It is native to the Sichuan-Hubei region of China...
, Stewartia pseudocamellia, and a 300-year-old Quercus alba.
- Margaret C. Ferguson Greenhouses - built 1922-1923 and named in honor of their designer, Professor Margaret Clay Ferguson. These 14 small greenhouses include a desert house, tropic house, warm temperate house, hydrophyte (water) house, begonia house, and the Mabel A. Stone Cryptogam House, as well as a propagation house, seasonal display house, two research houses, and two houses for student use. They exhibit over 1,000 plant varieties, including xerophyteXerophyteA xerophyte or xerophytic organism is a plant which has adapted to survive in an environment that lacks water, such as a desert. Xerophytic plants may have adapted shapes and forms or internal functions that reduce their water loss or store water during long periods of dryness...
s from the Americas and Africa, fernFernA 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...
s, useful tropical plants, etc. Of particular interest is the 130-year-old Durant camelliaCamelliaCamellia, 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...
given by Wellesley's founder, Henry Fowle DurantHenry Fowle DurantHenry Fowle Durant was an American lawyer and philanthropist. Durant was born in Hanover, New Hampshire.He graduated from Harvard in 1841, studied law, and subsequently practiced in Boston...
.