Lee and Virginia Graver Arboretum
Encyclopedia
The Lee and Virginia Graver Arboretum (63 acres) is an arboretum
owned by Muhlenberg College
and located at 1581 Bushkill Center Road, Bath, Pennsylvania
. The arboretum is open daily without charge.
The arboretum was established more than 40 years ago by Dr. Lee and Virginia Graver, who cultivated wildflower
s, fern
s, rhododendron
s, and native and rare trees, including more than 150 conifer species. The Gravers donated their property to Muhlenberg College in 1994.
Principal plant collections of the Lee and Virginia Graver Arboretum include:
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...
owned by Muhlenberg College
Muhlenberg College
Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America.- History...
and located at 1581 Bushkill Center Road, Bath, Pennsylvania
Bath, Pennsylvania
Bath is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is named for Bath, Somerset, England. It is located in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.The population of Bath was 2,693 at the 2010 census.-History:...
. The arboretum is open daily without charge.
The arboretum was established more than 40 years ago by Dr. Lee and Virginia Graver, who cultivated wildflower
Wildflower
A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...
s, 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...
s, rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
s, and native and rare trees, including more than 150 conifer species. The Gravers donated their property to Muhlenberg College in 1994.
Principal plant collections of the Lee and Virginia Graver Arboretum include:
- Conifers - Abies, Cedrus, ChamaecyparisChamaecyparisChamaecyparis is a genus of conifers in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to eastern Asia and western and eastern North America. In the nursery trade it is often incorrectly known as "false cypress" for lack of other common name, so as to distinguish it from other similar genera bearing...
, CupressusCupressusThe genus Cupressus is one of several genera within the family Cupressaceae that have the common name cypress; for the others, see cypress. It is considered a polyphyletic group...
, Juniperus, Larix, MetasequoiaMetasequoiaMetasequoia is a fast-growing, deciduous tree, and the sole living species, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, is one of three species of conifers known as redwoods. It is native to the Sichuan-Hubei region of China. Although the least tall of the redwoods, it grows to at least 200 feet in height...
, Picea, Pinus, Pseudotsuga, SequoiadendronSequoiadendronSequoiadendron giganteum is the sole living species in the genus Sequoiadendron, and one of three species of coniferous trees known as redwoods, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae, together with Sequoia sempervirens and...
, TaxodiumTaxodiumTaxodium is a genus of one to three species of extremely flood-tolerant conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae...
, ThujaThujaThuja is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae . There are five species in the genus, two native to North America and three native to eastern Asia...
, TsugaTsugaTsuga is a genus of conifers in the family Pinaceae. The common name hemlock is derived from a perceived similarity in the smell of its crushed foliage to that of the unrelated plant poison hemlock....
, and others.
- Wetland Plants - obligate (AlismaAlismaAlisma is a genus of flowering plants in the family Alismataceae, members of which are commonly known as water-plantains. The genus consists of aquatic plants with leaves either floating or submerged, found in a variety of still water habitats around the world . The flowers are hermaphrodite, and...
subcordatum, BidensBidensBidens is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It contains about 200 species. The common names beggarticks, black jack, bur-marigolds, stickseeds, tickseeds and tickseed sunflowers refer to the achene burrs on the seeds of this genus, most of which are barbed...
cernua, BraseniaBraseniaBrasenia is a genus belonging to the family Cabombaceae, consisting of one extant species widely distributed in warm temperate and tropical regions of the world. Brasenia is an aquatic perennial plant with floating, peltate leaves and rhizomatous stems...
schreberi, Chelone glabra, CicutaCicutaCicuta, commonly known as water hemlock, is a small genus of four species of highly poisonous plants in the family Apiaceae. They are perennial herbaceous plants which grow up to tall, having distinctive small green or white flowers arranged in an umbrella shape . Plants in this genus may also be...
maculata, Gentiana crinita, JuncusJuncusJuncus is a genus in the plant family Juncaceae. It consists of some 200 to 300 or more species of grassy plants commonly called rushes...
effusus, LeersiaLeersiaLeersia is a genus of true grasses which includes species known generally as cutgrasses. There are about 17 species native to tropical and warm temperate areas of the Americas and Eurasia...
oryzoides, LudwigiaLudwigiaLudwigia is a genus of about 75 species of aquatic plants with a cosmopolitan but mainly tropical distribution.Selected species...
palustris, LycopusLycopusLycopus is a genus of about a dozen species of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae. They are all herbaceous plants native to Europe, northwest Asia, and North America. The species are most often found in wetlands, damp meadows, and stream banks...
americanus, Myosotis scorpioides, PolygonumPolygonumPolygonum is a genus in the Polygonaceae family. Common names include knotweed, knotgrass, bistort, tear-thumb, mile-a-minute, and several others. In the Middle English glossary of herbs "Alphita" , it was known as ars-smerte. There have been various opinions about how broadly the genus should be...
hydropiper, PolygonumPolygonumPolygonum is a genus in the Polygonaceae family. Common names include knotweed, knotgrass, bistort, tear-thumb, mile-a-minute, and several others. In the Middle English glossary of herbs "Alphita" , it was known as ars-smerte. There have been various opinions about how broadly the genus should be...
sagittatum, PotamogetonPotamogetonPotamogeton is a genus of aquatic, mostly freshwater, plants of the family Potamogetonaceae. Most are known by the common name pondweed, although many unrelated plants may be called pondweed, such as Canadian pondweed...
sp., SagittariaSagittariaSagittaria is a genus of about 30 species of aquatic plants whose members go by a variety of common names, including arrowhead, duck potato, iz-ze-kn, katniss, kuwai , swan potato, tule potato, and wapato...
latifolia, Saxifraga pensylvanica, SymplocarpusSymplocarpusSymplocarpus is a genus of flowering plants in the Araceae family native to North America and Asia. The genus is characterized by having large leaves and deep root systems with contractile roots used for changing the plant's level with the ground...
foetidus, TaxodiumTaxodiumTaxodium is a genus of one to three species of extremely flood-tolerant conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae...
distichum, TyphaTyphaTypha is a genus of about eleven species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. The genus has a largely Northern Hemisphere distribution, but is essentially cosmopolitan, being found in a variety of wetland habitats...
latifolia; and facultative (Amelanchier arborea, ArisaemaArisaemaArisaema is a genus of about 150 species in the flowering plant family Araceae, native to eastern and central Africa, Asia and eastern North America. Its species are often called Cobra lilies, particularly the Asiatic species...
triphyllum, Betula alleghaniensis, BidensBidensBidens is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It contains about 200 species. The common names beggarticks, black jack, bur-marigolds, stickseeds, tickseeds and tickseed sunflowers refer to the achene burrs on the seeds of this genus, most of which are barbed...
comosa, BoehmeriaBoehmeriaBoehmeria is a genus of about 100 species of flowering plants in the nettle family Urticaceae, native to Asia and North America. The species include herbaceous perennials, shrubs and small trees. Although related to nettles, this genus does not have stinging hairs...
cylindrica, CarexCarexCarex is a genus of plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges. Other members of the Cyperaceae family are also called sedges, however those of genus Carex may be called "true" sedges, and it is the most species-rich genus in the family. The study of Carex is known as...
sp., Carpinus caroliniana, Echiocystis lobata, EleocharisEleocharisEleocharis is a genus of 250 or more species of flowering plants in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. They are known commonly as spikerushes, although spikesedges is a more technically appropriate name and most scientists who study them in earnest refer to them as such...
sp., EupatoriumEupatoriumEupatorium is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae, containing from 36 to 60 species depending on the classification system. Most are herbaceous perennial plants growing to 0.5–3 m tall. A few are shrubs. The genus is native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere....
perfoliatum, EutrochiumEutrochiumEutrochium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in Asteraceae. They are commonly referred to as Joe-Pye weeds. They are native to Eastern North America and have non-dissected foliage and pigmented flowers. It includes all the purple flowering North American species of the genus Eupatorium as...
maculatum, Hamamelis virginiana, ImpatiensImpatiensImpatiens is a genus of about 850–1,000 species of flowering plants, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and tropics. Together with the puzzling Hydrocera triflora, this genus makes up the family Balsaminaceae...
capensis, Larix lricina, LinderaLinderaLindera is a genus of about 80-100 species of flowering plants in the family Lauraceae, mostly native to eastern Asia but with three species in eastern North America. The species are shrubs and small trees; common names include Spicewood, Spicebush, and Benjamin Bush.-Overview:They are dioecious,...
benzoin, Onoclea sensibilis, OsmundaOsmundaOsmunda is a genus of primarily temperate-zone ferns of family Osmundaceae. Five to ten species have been listed for this genus.The species have completely dimorphic fronds or pinnae , green photosynthetic sterile fronds, and non-photosynthetic spore-bearing fertile pinnae, with large, naked...
cinnamomea, OsmundaOsmundaOsmunda is a genus of primarily temperate-zone ferns of family Osmundaceae. Five to ten species have been listed for this genus.The species have completely dimorphic fronds or pinnae , green photosynthetic sterile fronds, and non-photosynthetic spore-bearing fertile pinnae, with large, naked...
claytoniana, RanunculusRanunculusRanunculus is a large genus of about 600 species of plants in the Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus include the buttercups, spearworts, water crowfoots and the lesser celandine....
sp., PileaPileaPilea with 600–715 species is the largest genus in the plant family Urticaceae and one of the larger genera in the Urticales and eudicot rosids....
pumila, Rhus radicans, Sambucus canadensisa, SmilaxSmilaxSmilax is a genus of about 300-350 species, found in temperate zones, tropics and subtropics worldwide. In China for example about 80 are found , while there are 20 in North America north of Mexico...
herbacea, ThujaThujaThuja is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae . There are five species in the genus, two native to North America and three native to eastern Asia...
occidentalis, VeratrumVeratrumVeratrum is a genus of coarse, highly poisonous perennial herbs of the Melanthiaceae family. In English they are known as the False hellebores or corn lilies. Members of Veratrum are known both in western herbalism and traditional Chinese medicine as toxic herbs to be used with great caution...
viride, and ZiziaZiziaZizia is a genus of flowering plants named after Johann Baptist Ziz , a German botanist from the Rhineland.. Species within this genus include Z. aurea and Z. aptera As typical of plants in the Apiaceae family, plants in this genus bear flowers on distinct umbels ....
aurea).