W. J. Beal Botanical Garden
Encyclopedia
The W. J. Beal Botanical Garden is a 5 acres (2 ha) botanical garden
located on the campus
of Michigan State University
in East Lansing, Michigan
. It is claimed to be the oldest continually-maintained university botanical garden in the United States, and is open to the public without charge year round during daylight hours.
The Garden currently displays over 2,500 different plant taxa, comprising over 5,000 species, in economic, systematic, landscape and ecological groupings.
The Garden was started by Prof. William J. Beal
in 1872 with a nursery, followed in the subsequent year by test plots of 140 species of forage grasses
and clover
s, and an arboretum
in 1874 which began as two rows of swamp white oak
s. The Gardens developed from these original starting points until 1950, when they were reorganized and redesigned by Prof. Milton Baron to form today's four main groupings. In 1954, the Garden began participating in the international seed exchange program, publishing its first Index Seminum, and in 1961 was extended with a collection of acidophilous plants including rhododendron
s, azalea
s, and fern
s. More recently, a collection of Michigan
's endangered plants was added in 1986, and the non-flowering vascular plant collection was started in 2001 with ephedras
, conifers, ginkgo
, cycad
s, fern
s, horsetail
s and clubmosses.
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...
located on the campus
Campus of Michigan State University
The campus of Michigan State University is located in East Lansing on the banks of the Red Cedar River, and comprises a contiguous area of , of which are developed. Built amid virgin forest, the campus opened in 1855 with three buildings, none of which remain...
of Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
in East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located directly east of Lansing, Michigan, the state's capital. Most of the city is within Ingham County, though a small portion lies in Clinton County. The population was 48,579 at the time of the 2010 census, an increase from...
. It is claimed to be the oldest continually-maintained university botanical garden in the United States, and is open to the public without charge year round during daylight hours.
The Garden currently displays over 2,500 different plant taxa, comprising over 5,000 species, in economic, systematic, landscape and ecological groupings.
The Garden was started by Prof. William J. Beal
William J. Beal
William James Beal was an American botanist.-Biography:Beal was born in Adrian, Michigan, to William and Rachel Beal, and he married Hannah Proud in 1863. He attended the University of Michigan, which gave him an A.B. degree in 1859 and an A.M. degree in 1862; he also received an S.B. degree...
in 1872 with a nursery, followed in the subsequent year by test plots of 140 species of forage grasses
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
and clover
Clover
Clover , or trefoil, is a genus of about 300 species of plants in the leguminous pea family Fabaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution; the highest diversity is found in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, but many species also occur in South America and Africa, including at high altitudes...
s, and an arboretum
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...
in 1874 which began as two rows of swamp white oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
s. The Gardens developed from these original starting points until 1950, when they were reorganized and redesigned by Prof. Milton Baron to form today's four main groupings. In 1954, the Garden began participating in the international seed exchange program, publishing its first Index Seminum, and in 1961 was extended with a collection of acidophilous plants including rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
s, 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, and 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. More recently, a collection of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
's endangered plants was added in 1986, and the non-flowering vascular plant collection was started in 2001 with ephedras
Ephedra (genus)
Ephedra is a genus of gymnosperm shrubs, the only genus in its family, Ephedraceae, and order, Ephedrales. Ephedra grows in dry climates over wide areas of the northern hemisphere, including southwestern North America, Europe, north Africa, and southwest and central Asia, and, in the southern...
, conifers, ginkgo
Ginkgo
Ginkgo , also spelled gingko and known as the Maidenhair Tree, is a unique species of tree with no close living relatives...
, cycad
Cycad
Cycads are seed plants typically characterized by a stout and woody trunk with a crown of large, hard and stiff, evergreen leaves. They usually have pinnate leaves. The individual plants are either all male or all female . Cycads vary in size from having a trunk that is only a few centimeters...
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, horsetail
Horsetail
Equisetum is the only living genus in the Equisetaceae, a family of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds.Equisetum is a "living fossil", as it is the only living genus of the entire class Equisetopsida, which for over one hundred million years was much more diverse and...
s and clubmosses.