CREDIT TK 38 OregonStater.org DAWN REDWOOD Metasequoia glyptostroboides ORIGIN Planted northeast of Community Hall, they grew from rare seeds brought from China in 1948. — Once thought to be extinct, this ancient tree was rediscovered growing in China in the 1940s and is now known as a “living fossil.” — The tree flourished in Oregon during the Miocene epoch, about 25 to 5 million years ago, and is the official state fossil. — A newer dawn redwood was planted just northeast of this tree on June 4, 1991, to memorialize student protesters killed in Tiananmen Square. DUTCH HYBRID ELM 110 Feet DAWN REDWOOD 87 Feet TRYSTING TREE II (GRAY POPLAR) Populus x canescens TRYSTING TREE II 40 Feet BIG-LEAF MAGNOLIA 23 Feet ORIGIN The original Trysting Tree was planted next to Community Hall by George Coote, a horticulture faculty member, sometime between 1880 and 1885. He landscaped the first 35 acres of the current campus. Known as a meeting place for lovers, the Trysting Tree inspired engagements, a mention in OSU’s official anthem and more than a little administrative angst. In 1898, the Board of Regents trained bright lights on it to discourage nighttime rendezvous. — After the original tree was lost to disease in 1986, a cutting planted nearby became Trysting Tree II. It’s now recognized as an Oregon Heritage Tree, and (just in case) a third Trysting Tree is growing as well. Its massive white flowers are a showstopper in the spring. “Its leaves always look like a shirt thrown over a clothesline,” arboretum curator Dan Blanchard said, drawing on a description Professor Ryan Contreras often uses. — David Slifkin, a grounds maintenance worker, considers Magnolia ernestii, an endangered yellow lily tree, his greatest contribution to the campus’s extensive magnolia collection. BIG-LEAF MAGNOLIA Magnolia macrophylla ORIGIN This mediumsized deciduous understory tree is native to the southeastern U.S.; ours grows behind Shepard Hall. 20 FEET 40 60 80 100 120 140 OREGON STATE CAMPUS ARBORETUM F I E L D DUTCH HYBRID ELM Ulmus x hollandica (cultivar unknown) ORIGIN In 1905, the “Elm Walk,” or “Elm Allée,” was planted on lower campus between 11th and 15th Streets by students under the direction of George Coote. — Originally, the walk featured alternating Dutch hybrid and American elms. But the Dutch hybrids grew quickly, so in 1927 the American elms were replanted outside the Women’s Building. Grounds crews dug trenches around them, built crates to protect them, and then hauled them on carts — despite the fact that they were already taller than the building! — Every spring, thousands of evening grosbeaks visit campus to feast on the elms’ fruit. — Although removal of the Elm Walk was first recommended in 1909, the university chose to keep the trees, preserving an iconic campus landscape.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTcxMjMwNg==