arnotdiaVolume 49 Number 2 Spring 1989

Arnoldia (ISSN 0004-2633; USPS 866-100) is pub-lished quarterly, in winter, spring, summer, and fall,by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University

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Copyright @ 1989, The President and Fellows ofHarvard College.

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Arnoldia is printed by the Office of the UniversityPublisher, Harvard University.

Front cover Fargesia spathacea. in the full flush of its springgrowth Photo by Peter Del Tredici 8*- Inside front cover Sasaveitchu, photo by Gary L. Koller **2022 Back cover Lilacs at theArnold Arboretum, photo by Michael Melford. it- inside backcover A female giant panda in a grove of Fargesia bamboo in theWolong Reserve in central China Photo courtesy of George BShaller

Page2 The Quest for the Perfect Lilac

John H. Alexander III

8 Mycoplasmal Pathogens: New Causes forOld DiseasesC. R. Hibben

14 To Make His Country Smile: WilliamHamilton’s WoodlandsKaren Madsen

25 A New Magnolia Blooms in BostonPeter Del Tredici and Stephen A.Spongberg

28 Bamboos at the Arnold Arboretum-AMidwinter Performance Evaluation

Gary L. Koller

This plate is the frontispiece of The Bamboos: A FreshPerspective by F. A. McClure. It was denved from arubbing of a stone carving based on a painting by HuiNien. It was first used by C. LeRoy Baldridge in thecover design of his book, Turn to the East, privatelypublished in 1925. Reprinted with the permission ofHarvard University Press.

The Quest for the Perfect Lilac

John H. Alexander III

The lilac collection at the Arnold Arboretum, newly replanted, is beingrestored to its former glory.

In 1926, shortly after the death of C. S. Sar-gent, the first Director of the Arnold Arbore-tum, the entire lilac collection was cut to theground in an effort to rejuvenate it. With fewblossoms expected for the spring of 1927, LilacSunday was cancelled, news that made head-lines in the Boston papers. It is difficult to esti-mate how many people visit the Arboretumon any Lilac Sunday, but record attendancemay have been achieved in 1941, when onMay 18 an estimated 43,000 people visited.This amount of public attention inspires

the staff to pay close attention to maintenancelevels of the lilac collection, and a burst oflabeling, pruning and primping takes placeevery year just before Lilac Sunday. Anychanges that are made to the lilac collectionare noted and commented on by just abouteveryone.

Recently, it became evident that an overalldecline of the collection had taken place overthe last fifteen to twenty years. Although theexact cause of the decline was not obvious, anumber of factors contributed to it.

(1) The infection of the collection bymycoplasmalike organisms (MLO). These tinycreatures have been found to inhabit the tis-sues of many of the Arboretum’s specimensand have seriously weakened them (see arti-cle by C. Hibben, page 8). While Syringavulgaris, the common lilac, displays no visi-ble symptoms, other species often exhibitwitches’-broom formations when infected byMLO. Unfortunately, there is no known curefor this disease. Removal of infected plantsseems to be the only recourse.

(2) Air pollution has been implicated as thecause of another disease, leaf roll necrosis(LRN). When a plant is afflicted, leaf marginsdie, and leaves roll upward or downward, dis-figuring the plant. Apparently caused by con-tinuously high levels of atmosphericpollution, the symptoms are not obvious untillate summer or early fall, about the same timethat powdery mildew appears on the leaves.As in their reaction to powdery mildew, lilaccultivars vary in their susceptibility to air pol-lution injury.

(3) Powdery mildew infection is not a newproblem for lilac growers, nor is it a problemabout which all lilac enthusiasts have to

worry. It is a fungus which grows on the sur-face of as well as inside the lilac leaves, feed-ing on the stored sugars. It thrives in humidcoastal climates such as Boston, and is a pestthat most experts suggest gardeners simplyignore. Lilacs are spring, and mildew is fall.It does very little damage to the plants sincethe leaves are close to dropping anyway. Evenif the damage it does is negligible, powderymildew is unsightly, and many gardenerswould love to be able to control it. Given thefact that some cultivars are much more sus-

ceptible to powdery mildew than others, whynot grow those with the best floral display andthe least mildew? This is not a novel idea; sur-veys of lilac mildew have been conducted atleast since the 1930’s when I. H. Crowell sur-

veyed the Arnold’s collections and rated speci-mens for their susceptibility to mildew.

(4) In an attempt to improve maintenanceby reducing the growth of weeds in the lilac

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The Arnold Arboretum lilac collection, May 23, 1908. Photo by T. E. Mayr from the Arnold Arboretum Archives.

collection, herbicides have been used. Majorinjury to the collection occurred about twentyyears ago with applications of the then newherbicide Casoron®, and the plants were veryslow to regain their vigor.

(5) Mechanical injury to lilacs often occurswhen the grass is trimmed too close to thestems with a monofilament string trimmer or,more obviously, with a lawn mower. The lilaccollection is located on a hillside, parts ofwhich are quite steep, and even whenmachines are operated with great care, theyoccasionally slide sideways a few inches, ora few feet, bumping and abrading the olderlilac stems and shearing the younger stemsthat staff members would have encouraged inorder to rejuvenate older specimens.

(6) Aging too must be considered as a fac-tor in the decline of the collection since morethan 150 plants are beyond the age of 50, and36 of them were planted before the turn of thecentury.With all these factors contributing to the

decline of the collection, the staff felt that thelilac display could be greatly improved sim-ply by reducing the stresses. Coupled withcultural techniques, judicious selection ofsuperior cultivars would yield a vastlyimproved lilac collection - lilacs for a newcentury.

Displaying the CollectionThe Arnold Arboretum, Highland Park

(Rochester, New York), and the Royal Botani-

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cal Gardens (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) havethe major lilac collections of the Northeast.In each of these three gardens, most of thelilacs are displayed as single specimens. Eachplant is placed within a lawn spaced some dis-tance from its neighbors, and each plant isseen as a distinct entity. At both HighlandPark and Royal Botanical Gardens, the soilimmediately adjacent to the plant is culti-vated, while at the Arnold, the turf is allowedto grow up to the stems. Both methodsproduce maintenance problems-proper lawntrimming and cultivating endanger the plants.Both types of planting also allow visitors towalk up close to the plants and enjoy theirfragrance, but this results in compaction ofthe soil. Best serving the public, but not theplants, these types of displays are common tomost public gardens.The first deviation from standard public

garden specimen planting that this author sawwas at the Niagara Parks Commission Schoolof Horticulture, Niagara Falls, Ontario. Therelilacs are planted in beds ... and underplantedwith ground covers and bulbs!The Niagara Parks School had demon-

strated a way to keep mowers and feet at bay:mowers could be run right to the edge of theground cover, clearly defining the bed, mak-ing a neat appearance, and requiring only aminimum of effort. With a power mower, onecircuit of a bed that contains ten or twentyplants is so much less exacting and less time-consuming, and at the same time is lesshazardous for plants, than the traditionalmethod. The Arnold staff agreed that its newapproach to planting lilacs at the ArnoldArboretum should include planting in beds.The design of these new beds was carried

out by Gary Koller, Managing Horticulturist.We agreed that groups of each cultivar wouldbe more appealing, from a landscape view-point, than single specimens. Beds have beenkept narrow enough so that each cultivargrouping has at least one plant that is near anoutside edge of the bed, close enough for visi-tors to study and sniff. Underplantings are ofPachysandra terminalis ’Green Carpet’,Dicentra spectabilis (bleeding heart) and

Endymion hispanicus (Spanish bluebell).

The lilac collection m August 1988, the second yearafter replanting. Photo by Istvdn Rdcz.

Initially we toyed with the idea of plantingwhole beds of white (or purple or blue) lilacs,each one different, thereby settling once andfor all which is the best cultivar of a givencolor. This concept, not visually interestingand a nightmare when it comes to maintain-ing the identity of each individual cultivar,was rejected. The scheme finally chosen has,in large part, grouped the plants according totheir origin. There is one bed for plantsintroduced by the famous French nurseryfamily Lemoine. Another bed features theintroductions of the Canadian hybridizer F. L.Skinner, and a third the plants produced bythe Russian L. A. Kolesnikov. Examples ofseedling variation within the species Syringapatula are planted together in one bed, and the"New England" bed features those cultivarsthat we consider best for this climate. Otherthemes are being planned for the future, sincethere are many more lilacs left to plant.The next task was to select the specific cul-

tivars for inclusion in these groups. For exam-ple, of the over 200 cultivars that theLemoines introduced, which twenty or thirtyare their best? The choices were not entirelysubjective, although one could not call themscientific. What, after all, constitutes the best?

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These choices were left to the author, who forover ten years has annually surveyed theArnold’s lilac collection and recorded symp-toms of powdery mildew and leaf roll necro-sis. All of this data has been entered into acomputer through the efforts of Arboretumvolunteer Dr. Richard W Dwight.

Obviously, the best lilacs should not be dis-figured by powdery mildew or leaf roll necro-sis, but because most lilacs are susceptible tothese problems, some level of infection mustbe tolerated-preferably at a level that is nottoo noticeable in the landscape.

Proper evaluation of lilacs cannot be donesolely in the fall. Good foliage is desirable, butno one grows lilacs for their foliage display.In terms of flowers, are more blossoms better,or are bigger blossoms better? In a landscape

display, the overall abundance of bloom is veryimportant, but near pathways, large flowersand inflorescences may be most attractive. Agood display combines plants with bothattributes.Beauty is in the eye of the beholder ... in

the eye, and perhaps in the nose as well, forfragrance is a major component of lilacbeauty. Yet we have not felt that it was neces-sary to consider fragrance when choosingplants for the lilac beds because at lilac time,their fragrance so permeates the air that oneis aware of their scent even at a distance.There are some cultivars (often those withwhite flowers) with little or no fragrance,while others are extraordinarily fragrant. Seek-ing out the latter is for many visitors a mostimportant part of experiencing the collection.

Syringa reticulata, Arnold Arboretum #1111, started from seed in 1876. This is the oldest lilac in the collection.Photo from the Arnold Arboretum Archives.

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To check for fragrance I, along with two volun-teers who claimed to be very sensitive tofragrance, walked through the collectionindependently sniffing and rating the plants.We became more confident in the rating sys-tem when we came to the same cultivar in adifferent location and found that our ratingswere the same or very nearly so.To determine which lilacs were the best, it

became necessary to define the perfect lilac.Once perfection was defined, deviations fromand permutations of perfection could be exa-mined more objectively. Still, the definitionitself was subjective. For the sake of argument,let us propose that the perfect lilac should:-be highly fragrant-be resistant to mildew and leaf roll

necrosis-have flowers at eye (and nose) level-not

too high for comfortable viewing-have many inflorescences, displayed from

top to bottom-have new growth that doesn’t obscure the

flowers

-produce enough suckers to replace old orinjured stems but no more.

Ideally, for every flower color, every seasonof bloom, and every single or double form, agardener should be able to find a perfect lilacto meet the requirements listed above. For thehome garden, where available space may bemore limited, one may wish to select culti-vars with a high degree of fragrance and dis-ease resistance, as well as ones that are

visually attractive. A list of what I haveobserved to be, at present, the "best fifty" isprovided on page 7. I qualify this statementwith "at present" because as better plantsbecome known, the list will change.Of course, the "perfect" lilac may exist only

on these pages, yet as more beds are plantedand better cultivars are added, the distancebetween reality and perfection is diminished.

Close-up of the flowers of Syrmga vulgans. Photo fromthe Arnold Arboretum Archives.

References

Alexander, J.H III. 1977. The uncommon lilacs-

something old something new. Arnoldia 38(3):65-81.

Crowell, H.I. 1937. U S.D.A Plant Disease Reporter 21(8)-134-138.

Walker, J. T., C. R. Hibben, and J. C. Alhson. 1975. Culti- i-var ratings for susceptibility and resistance tothe leaf roll-necrosis disorder of lilac. four.Amer. Soc. Hort Sci 100(6): 627-631.

John Alexander is the Plant Propagator at the ArnoldArboretum.

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Fifty of the Best Lilacs for the Gardens of New EnglandSelected by John H. Alexander III

Cultivar Flower TypeVIOLET BLOSSOMSHenri Robert DoubleLouvois "§g SingleMieczta 2022 Single

"BLUE" BLOSSOMS -

Dr. Chadwick * SingleLaurentian .# SingleMaurice Barres SingleMadame Charles Souchet SinglePresident Lincoln . Single

PURPLE BLOSSOMSAdelaide Dunbar . DoublePaul Hariot DoublePresident Roosevelt . SingleSarah Sands SingleSensation SingleZulu Single

MAGENTA BLOSSOMSCharles Joly : DoubleGlory SingleMme. F. Morel SinglePaul Thirion DoubleRuhm von Horstenstein . Single

"YELLOW" BLOSSOMSPrimrose Single

"PINK" BLOSSOMSCatinat .* SingleCharm SingleChurchill * SingleGeneral Sherman . SingleKatherine Havemeyer . DoubleLucie Baltet SingleMme. Antoine Buchner DoubleScotia * SingleVauban .# DoubleVirginite Double

WHITE BLOSSOMSJan Van Tol SingleJeanne d’Arc DoubleJoan Dunbar DoubleKrasavitsa Moskvy DoubleMarie Legraye SingleMaude Notcutt Single

Cultivar Flower TypeMiss Ellen Willmott DoubleMme. Lemoine DoubleSaint Margaret DoubleSister Justena # Single

LILAC BLOSSOMS

Alphonse Lavallee DoubleAssessippi .# SingleExcel .# SingleHippolyte Maringer DoubleHugo Koster SingleHyazinthenflieder SingleMichel Buchner DoubleNokomis $~ Single

. indicates a high degree of fragrance* indicates an early-blooming hybrid

,

Recommended plants were selected based on theiroverall landscape and floral qualities, includingtheir resistance to the foliar diseases, leaf roll necro-sis and powdery mildew. Jack Alexander wasassisted in the foliar disease research by RichardDwight M.D., and in the fragrance project byMichelle Kramer and Ellen McFarland.

TEN FAVORITE UNCOMMON LILACS

The "best fifty" list includes only cultivars ofSyrmga vulgans and the early-flowering S. x hya-cinthiflora because they have the general appear-ance of the traditional or common lilac. Hybridsand selections of the species listed below haveleaves, flowers and fragrance that are different, andoffer adventurous gardeners the opportunity tobreak with tradition.

Syringa lacmiataS. meyeriS. meyen ’Palibin’S. microphylla ’Superba’S. patula ’Miss Kim’S. pekinensisS. x prestoniae ’Agnes Smith’S. x prestoniae ’Miss Canada’S. pubescensS. reticulata

Mycoplasmal Pathogens: New Causes forOld Diseases

C. R. Hibben

Microorganisms residing in the phloem of plants induce growthabnormalities harmful to their hosts, including lilacs and ashes.

The year 1967 began a new era for plantpathology, as Japanese researchers reported thediscovery of pathogens heretofore unknown inplants. These were called mycoplasmalikeorganisms, or MLO. Several diseases thoughtto be caused by viruses were subsequentlyreexamined, and MLO were identified as thetrue causal agents. The significance of thisdiscovery is shown by the wide host range ofMLO: 700 herbaceous and woody plants in424 genera within 99 families. These patho-gens are responsible for diseases of many eco-nomically important vegetable, ornamental,forest, and plantation crops from cool temper-ate to tropical regions. The well-known trium-virate of fungal, bacterial, and viral pathogensof plants has now been joined by a prominentnew member, the MLO.As an introduction to this unique group of

microorganisms, this report will cover thenature of MLO, how woody plants react tothem, and recent research on their impact ontwo genera in the family Oleaceae, Syringa(lilacs) and Fraxinus (ashes).Definition and Detection

In simple terms, MLO are single-celled, non-motile organisms somewhat smaller than bac-teria. They are the smallest known livingcells. More technically, they are wall-less

prokaryotes, consisting of an elastic, triple-layered membrane enclosing cytoplasm thatcontains ribosomes and strands of DNA.

MLO are variably shaped, assuming spherical,beaded, filamentous, or yeast-like appear-ances. Most MLO are smaller than onemicron (one millionth of a meter). Like bac-teria, they appear to divide by a cleavageprocess, but their reproduction is not wellunderstood at this point.As plant pathogens, MLO occur only in the

phloem sieve tube elements of leaves, shoots,and roots. Their direct study in the phloemhas been by electron microscopy, but a fluores-cence test for MLO has simplified the proc-ess of infection diagnosis. In this test, thechemical DAPI (4’6-diamidino-2-phenylin-dole#2HCl) binds to mycoplasmal DNA andfluoresces when exposed to ultraviolet radia-tion. Thin sections of infected plants stainedwith DAPI can then be examined with afluorescence microscope. In the early workwith plant MLO, the fact that remission ofsymptoms could be induced by the injectionof tetracycline antibiotics, but not by penicil-lin, was considered prima facie evidence formycoplasmal infection.

All attempts to achieve sustained growth ofplant pathogenic MLO outside of their hostshave failed. This inability to grow MLO inartificial culture continues to be a limitingfactor to characterizing them more com-pletely. One direct consequence of this

difficulty is the use of the cumbersome term"mycoplasmalike." Recently, some progresshas been made investigating serological rela-

Figure 1. Mycoplasmalike orgamsms (arrow) in phloem sieve tube cells trom a leaf midnb of mfected lilac.

tionships among plant MLO utilizing par-tially purified MLO as immunogens.Perfection of these serological techniqueswould allow rapid advances in research.

Plant Reactions

Mycoplasmal pathogens can induce reduc-tion and stimulation of growth in their hostssimultaneously. Growth reduction is

expressed as stunted and misshapen leavesand floral parts, shortened internodes, anddecreased annual ring width. At the sametime, growth is initiated from axillary and ter-minal buds that normally would haveremained dormant until the following season,and from adventitious buds in older wood.Witches’-brooms (dense clusters of stuntedtwigs) are the most dramatic manifestation ofthis abnormal growth.

Infection also causes abnormalities inflower development, including greening, theproduction of leaflike parts, gigantism, steril-ity, and ultimately, total inhibition. Fruit ofpoor quality is produced, or fruiting ceasesaltogether. Yellowing and premature autumncoloration of foliage occur in some hosts.Long-term disease expression in woody plantsranges from yearly chronic symptoms to mor-tality within months of infection. In somecases, infected plants can be free of any obvi-ous symptoms.The physiological modes of action by which

MLO affect plants are not well understood.Phloem degeneration occurs, and a disruptionof phloem function can be inferred by abnor-mal accumulations of starch in the leaves ofinfected plants. Stunting symptoms suggestinadequate movement of photosynthates to

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Figure 2. Hedgerow of white ash in southeastern NewYork State, where ash dieback has been severe sincethe 1950’s. Most of these trees are now dead.

growing points. Photographs of phloem sievetube elements filled with MLO suggest ablockage in the downward transport ofstarches and sugars, as well as the diversionof these photosynthates to the growth of thepathogen. The loss of apical dominance andthe flower abnormalities in infected plants areobvious indicators of a basic hormonalimbalance.

In addition to the direct effects of MLO ontheir host, there is evidence that MLO-infected woody plants are predisposed to

injury from non-biological stresses, such aslow winter temperatures. We have observedthe death of MLO-infected lilacs following asevere winter (Hibben et al., 1986), and othershave noted subnormal cold hardiness in ashtrees infected with MLO (Matteoni and Sin-clair, 1985).

Transmission and Control

One difficulty in achieving control of

mycoplasmal pathogens is that they are eas-ily spread. MLO are transmitted from plantto plant by phloem-feeding insects, such asleafhoppers, spittle bugs, and psyllids. Thewide host range of these pathogens in woodyand herbaceous plants makes the acquisitionand spread of MLO by insect vectors morelikely. Vegetative propagation materials suchas cuttings, grafting scions and stocks, andshoot tips for micro-propagation can readilycarry MLO. While plant tissue cultures areknown to sustain MLO, their survival dependson the rapid differentiation of new phloem bythe explant. Mycoplasmal pathogens are notseed-transmitted.

Practical control measures are essentiallylimited to exclusion of the pathogen by theuse of disease-free stock or by roguing infectedplants out of the ground. Injecting trees withtetracycline antibiotics results in a temporaryremission of symptoms in some hosts, butthese treatments are not curative. Some meas-ure of control of insect vectors is possible withinsecticides, but excluding all vectors fromsusceptible plants is unlikely and impractical.

Impact on Two Woody HostsTwo prominent members of the olive family(Oleaceae) appear to be favored hosts of MLO:Fraxinus and Syringa. From recent research,some of it conducted in the ash and lilacplantings at the Arnold Arboretum, we havelearned that ash yellows and lilac witches’-broom are mycoplasmal diseases of someimportance.Ash dieback, characterized by a gradual

dying back of the branches and eventual treemortality, has been a major problem in thenortheast since the late 1950’s. White ash

(Fraxinus americana) and green ash (F. penn-sylvanica) have been affected in woodlands,roadsides, and home sites. Drought andcanker fungi were initially implicated as

causal factors, but in 1970, MLO were identi-fied in witches’-brooms associated with ashin advanced stages of decline (Hibben andWolanski, 1971). Cornell researchers, making

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Figure 3. Abnormal branch growth m white ash (nght) is one consequence of infection by mycoplasmalikeorgamsms. Healthy ash on the left.

use of the DAPI fluorescence test, discoveredthat mycoplasmal infection is widespread inash, even in trees without witches’-brooms(Matteoni and Sinclair, 1985). The disease wasnamed ash yellows. There is now convincingevidence that ash yellows is the primary causeof ash dieback in undisturbed sites where ashshould be healthy. Ash yellows has beenreported in several northeastern and mid-western states, and in southeastern Canada.The host range of MLO in Fraxinus is

greater than first realized. MLO have beendetected in blue ash (F. quadrangulata) andblack ash (F nigra) (Sinclair, 1987). During asurvey of ash in the Arnold Arboretum, weidentified MLO in ten additional species ofFraxinus susceptible to MLO (Hibben andFranzen, 1987). These findings were especially

interesting because the infected ash trees wereadjacent to the lilac collection which con-tained numerous specimens with thewitches’-broom disease. This provided circum-stantial evidence that the mycoplasmal dis-eases of ash and lilacs may be caused by thesame or related strains of MLO.

In support of this hypothesis, we were ableto transmit MLO from infected ash to healthylilacs, and from infected lilacs to healthy ashusing the parasitic plant, dodder (Cuscutasubinclusa), as a carrier. The ability of thesame MLO pathogen to infect more than onehost would increase the likelihood of diseasespread by insects, and make control strategiesmore difficult.

Lilac witches’-broom was first reported in1951, and the cause was presumed to be a

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virus. In 1986, we identified MLO, rather thana virus, as the true cause of the disease inSyrmga x josiflexa, S. x prestoniae, S. swegin-zowii, S. villosa x sweginzowii, S. josikaea,and S. x persica. The more widely grown S.vulgaris cultivars, including most of theLemoine or French hybrids, never showedthese symptoms, even when interplanted withinfected lilacs jHibben et al., 19861.

After further inspection of lilac collectionsin the eastern United States and Canada, wefound that S. vulgaris cultivars are suscepti-ble to, but more tolerant of, infection thannon-vulgaris lilacs. Diagnostic symptoms inS. vulgaris consisted of premature growthfrom current-year buds, growth from adventi-tious buds in older wood, and sometimesstunted twigs in bizarre zigzag growth pat-terns. Occasionally, MLO were detected inhealthy looking lilacs. Witches’-brooms andsevere dieback were not associated withinfected S.vulgaris.

Figure 4. Witches’-brooms are dramatic symptoms ofwoody plants infected by mycoplasmal pathogens.This is the lilac cultivar ’Royalty’.

Figure 5. Stunted, bunchy twiggrowth and scatteredtwig dieback are additional symptoms of woodyplants infected by mycoplasmahke organisms. Thisis the lilac cultivar ’Royalty’.

A compilation of lilac taxa in which thewitches’-broom disease has been identified

(Table 1) shows that the late-blooming lilacsare especially susceptible, particularly thosewith a josikaea or villosa lineage. Mycoplas-mal infection has not been detected in any ofthe early-blooming S. x hyacinthiflora culti-vars. However, more research is necessarybefore lilacs resistant to MLO can be recom-mended with confidence.When the diseases of ash and lilac are com-

pared, MLO are more lethal in ash, whereasreduced aesthetic value is usually the conse-quence of infection in lilacs. MLO maybecome a greater threat to lilacs in the futureas their propagation by tissue culture becomesincreasingly common. Contamination of lilacexplants by MLO will have to be carefullymonitored in order to assure the productionof disease-free plants.We are convinced by our research on ash

and lilac that these newly discovered patho-gens constitute significant threats to horticul-ture and forestry. Clearly, the primary limitingfactor to learning more about mycoplasmalikeorganisms is the inability to isolate and growthem in pure culture. When this has beenachieved, I predict that they will soon rank inimportance with fungi, bacteria, and virusesas recognized disease-causing agents in theenvironment.

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References

Hibben, C. R., and L. M. Franzen. 1987. Coincidence oflilac witches’-broom and ash yellows m twoarboreta. Phytopathology 77: 118 (Abstract).

Hibben, C. R., C. A. Lewis, and J. D Castello 1986

Mycoplasmalike organisms, cause of lilacwitches’-broom. Plant Disease 70: 342-345.

Hibben C. R., and B. Wolanski. 1971. Dodder transmis-sion of a mycoplasma from ash witches’-broom.Phytopathology 61: 151-156.

Matteoni, J. A., and W. A Sinclair. 1985. Role of the

mycoplasmal disease, ash yellows, in decline ofwhite ash in New York State. Phytopathology75: 355-360.

Sinclair, W. A. 1987. Mycoplasmal infection found m fourash species in midwestern states. Plant Disease71: 761.

Additional Selected References

Bove, J. M. 1984. Wall-less prokaryotes of plants Ann. Rev.of Phytopathology 22: 361-396.

Hibben, C. R., and S. B. Silverborg. 1978. Severity andcauses of ash dieback Tour of Arboriculture 4:274-279.

Hildebrandt, V. 1986. Lilac propagation by tissue culture:academic to commercial. Lilacs 15(1): 25-34.

Lee, I. M., and R. E. Davis. 1986. Prospects for in vitroculture of plant-pathogenic mycoplasmalikeorganisms. Ann. Rev. of Phytopathology 24:339-354.

McCoy, R. E. 1979. Mycoplasmas and yellows diseases,pp. 229-265. In The Mycoplasmas, vol. 3: Plantand Insect Mycoplasmas, ed R F. Whitcomband J. G. Thlly. New York: Academic Press.

Sehskar, C. E., and C L. Wilson 1981. Yellows diseasesof trees, pp. 35-96. In Mycoplasma Diseases ofTrees and Shrubs, ed. K. Maramorosch and S.P. Raychaudhun. New York: Academic Press.

Dr. Craig R. Hibben is Research Plant Pathologist at theBrooklyn Botanic Garden Research Center in Ossmmg,New York.

To Make His Country Smile: William Hamilton’sWoodlands -

Karen Madsen

This famous estate on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia occupies animportant position in the history of American landscape gardening.

Two hundred years ago the preeminent sighton the southern approach to Philadelphia wasa country estate lying just above the pic-turesque Schuylkill River. Created by WilliamHamilton (1745-1813), gentleman, landscapedesigner, botanist, and avid plant collector, theWoodlands was an icon in its time, one of thefirst American landscape gardens in the"natural" English style.

It was to Hamilton that Thomas Jeffersonwrote the letter now considered one of the keydocuments in American landscape history.Near the end he apologizes because "I satdown to thank you for kindnesses received,& to bespeak permission to ask further con-tributions from your collection & I have writ-ten you a treatise on gardening generally, inwhich art lessons would come with more

justice from you to me." In the same letterJefferson called the Woodlands "the only rivalwhich I have known in America to what maybe seen in England."1 Although it is now rarelygiven more than a paragraph or two in articleson the art of American landscaping prior tothe nineteenth century, in Hamilton’s timethe Woodlands received a great deal of atten-

tion, both written and graphic.Hamilton inherited the Woodlands in 1747

when he was only two years old. His interestin "improving" what was then a country seatbegan very early; indeed, a schoolmateremembered listening to Hamilton’s plans forits improvement when he was only a boy.2 But

with his visit to England in 1784-1786, thatinterest was heightened. Of his tours there wehave only a list of the counties he visited anda boast.

Short as my absence from you has been [one yearat the time], I am bold to say I have seen as muchof Eng’d & its metropolis as any of my countrymenwho have preceded me .. [I] have left unseen noth-ing that I have ever heard of as worthy of notice. Atevery place where I have been I have attended towhatever was most curious, & by the help of mymemorandums, I flatter myself, the impressions Ireceived will not be easily effaced.3

He was favorably impressed. "England as acountry is an Elysium, & I should not haverepined if circumstances would allow me afixed Residence in it, with my family &

property about me." He resolved to transportit to his own country. "The verdure of Englandis its greatest beauty & my endeavours shallnot be wanting to give the Woodlands someresemblance of it."4 He pledged, "Havingobserved with attention the nature, variety &extent of the plantations of shrubs, trees, &fruits & consequently admired them, I shall(if God grants me a safe return to my owncountry,) endeavour to make it smile in thesame useful & beautiful manner." And in thesame letter he sets his secretary to work onhis plans for improvements: "To take time bythe forelock, every preparation shouldimmediately be made by Mr. Thomson [hisgardener] who is on the spot, & I have no

15

fames Peller Malcom’s watercolor titled The Woodlands From the Bridge at Gray’s Ferry, ca. 1792. This is theperspective of travelers from Washmgton and other points south as they approached Philadelphia’s limits. Thehouse appears to loom over the nver, as if sited much closer to it than it really is. Tb the left, or west, of thehouse can be seen the wall of the greenhouse, the roof of the stable, and m the right middle ground, a pathwindmg down to the river. From City of Independence, Martm P Snyder. New York. Praeger Publishers, 1975,page 71, privately owned.

doubt you will assist him to the utmost of

your power."5Hamilton’s ambition-to make his country

smile in the same useful and beautifulmanner-can in no way be considered hob-

byish, inconsequential, or in any way purelyoptional. Landscape was an issue of both aes-thetic and intellectual concern. It was seen tohave consequences in physical and economicwell-being and to have important moral impli-cations as well. It expressed the young coun-try’s aspirations. As one historian put it, "Thequality of American life and scenery assumednationalistic overtones. The improved land-scape not only provided evidence of the coun-

try’s progress but displayed its integrity andwholesomeness."6

Begun in the eighteenth century, by thenineteenth the process of adapting the Englishconception of natural beauty and order to theUnited States had taken a central position. Ithas been pointed out that "the national land-scape stimulated much of the most influen-tial thinking, the most intense feeling, andthe finest art of the American people."7 TheEnglish romantic landscape, widely seen asrevolutionary in its concept, was and is con-sidered England’s greatest contribution to thearts in the eighteenth century. In thenineteenth and twentieth centuries, that con-

16

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cept also shaped American standards ofnatural beauty with all the implications thathas had for our landscape and our way of life.With so many Americans born or educated

in England, it was only natural that Englishtaste should have its influence. Philadelphia,New York, and Boston might be major citiesof an independent nation on the far side of theocean, but culturally they were as dependenton London as any of the provincial cities inEngland itself. In 1798 Benjamin HenryLatrobe wrote in his journal, "I could see nodifference between Philadelphian and Englishmanners. The same style of living, the sameopinions as to fashions, tastes, comforts, andaccomplishments. Nor can it well be other-wise. The perpetual influx of Englishmen, theconstant intercourse of the Merchants-herethe leaders of manners and fashion-withEngland, must produce this effect."8 But onone important point America had the advan-tage over the mother country, and that was inits natural beauty. In typical Americanfashion the advantage was often expressed interms of its practical aspects, or as theEnglish-born artist William Russell Birch putit, "In the United States the face of nature isso variegated ... that labour and expenditureof Art is not so great as in Countries lessfavoured."9The English canon on natural beauty did

not neglect rivers. Those looking for "pleas-ing and picturesque views" were encouragedto follow the course of a river; windingthrough a country it was "one of the mostbeautiful objects in nature."10 The Schuylkillwas early recognized as one of the most beau-tiful among beautiful objects, abounding in"beautiful situations for retreats," as Birch,who portrayed so many of them, wrote in hisautobiography." At the Woodlands the terrainwas of the much admired hill-and-dale vari-ety with several small streams crossing it.

Along the river, which is very broad here,there was a touch of wildness and the visualinterest of rock outcroppings.The most prominent feature in the land-

scape was the house, sited on a high bluff.Truly it fit the eighteenth-century Englishideal of a beautiful object in a picturesquelandscape. A well-traveled Polish noblemancalled it the Villa Borghese of Philadelphiaalthough it was on a scale far smaller than theEnglish or European (as was appropriate to anew republic).12 When on his return fromEngland in 1786 William enlarged on the ruralsummer retreat his father had built, he fol-lowed the latest English fashion using cur-vilinear forms and detailing new to Americanarchitecture. But most significant, the houserepresents an early attempt-perhaps theearliest-to literally move out into the land-scape. The south facade, with its giant project-ing portico, faces square onto the most

important vista, the river.It was there on an October evening in 1803

that the peripatetic Reverend ManassehCutler, then congressman from Mas-

sachusetts, and his colleague Senator Timo-thy Pickering, seeking shelter for the nightfrom fever-ridden Philadelphia, found theowner of the manse, taking his ease on hispiazza, smoking a cigar, no doubt chattingwith family, surveying the traffic on theSchuylkill, and enjoying the view to thesouth.13 By all accounts the views wereexquisite.

The prospect from every room is enchanting, as youenter the hall you have a view of a remarkably finelawn, beyond that, the bridge over which people areconstantly passing, the rocky ground opposite toGray’s, four or five windings of the Schuylkill, theintermediate country & the Delaware terminated bythe blue mist of the Jersey shore-at the back theeye is refreshed with the sight of the most beauti-ful trees.14

A detail from Peter C Varle’s map of Philadelphia, 1796. The Darby Road, running parallel to the Schuylkill,mtersects the Woodlands. The Schuylkill and Mill Creek, which flows into the Schuylkill, form two of theWoodlands’ boundanes. When Hamilton mherited the Woodlands, it was about 356 acres in extent. A 1781survey shows him to have mcreased its size to 600 acres. Most of the property was farmed with the exceptionof the area between the Darby Road and the Schuylkill. That is where Hamilton made his landscape garden.Courtesy of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

’

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William Russell Birch, Woodlands, the Seat of Mr Wm Hamilton Pennsylv’a, an engraving from his Country Seatsof the United States of North America, 1808. Birch was one of the first to depict country estates m the earlyyears of our nation. His Country Seats resembles similar English publications of the period, the major differencebeing that the English pictured the manors of the nobility and a way of life attamable only by accident of birth,whereas Birch showed an American way of life, within reach of all. Courtesy of the Historical Society of Penn-sylvania.

Contemporaries recorded that Hamiltonwas wonderfully charming, fond of show, anaffectionate son and uncle, and above all anenthusiastic and eager host. George Washing-ton noted in his diary for 1787 a "lavish enter-tainment at which were more than an

hundred guests."15 On July 4, 1788, whenPhiladelphians celebrated the official accep-tance of the Constitution with a three-mileparade ending at the Woodlands, seventeenthousand citizens spent the afternoon pic-nicking on the grounds.16

It is on the surviving bits of paper that wemust depend for an idea of what England’sonly rival actually looked like. No plan of thelandscape garden is known, nor can it be

entirely reconstructed unless and until thetools of archeology are employed at the site.

Several contemporary accounts do exist. Addto these what remains of Hamilton’s cor-

respondence as well as the evidence of surviv-ing illustrations, and we can form an idea ofthe terrain, the views from the house, the"pleasure ground ;’ and the greenhouse and itssurrounding area. We get only glimpses of out-buildings, terraces, and bordered walks as wellas kitchen garden and orchard.Reverend Cutler described the pleasure

ground as being "in front, and a little back ofthe house. It is formed into walks, in everydirection, with borders of flowering shrubsand trees. Between are lawns of green grass,frequently mowed, and at different distancesnumerous copse of the native trees, inter-

spersed with artificial groves, which are oftrees collected from all parts of the world."

19

And collected in great numbers. In a letterfrom England Hamilton worries the fate ofplants sent home, among them three hundredsilver firs and five hundred Portugueselaurels.17An account dating from 1788 tells us that

the walks were "planted on each side with themost beautiful & curious flowers & shrubs.They are in some parts enclosed with theLombardy poplar except here & there open-ings are left to give you a view of some finetrees or beautiful prospect beyond, & in

others, shaded by arbours of the wild grape,or clumps of large trees under which areplaced seats where you may rest yourself &

enjoy the cool air ... "18America’s first planting guide, The Ameri-

can Gardener’s Calendar (1806), was writtenby a man who knew the Woodlands well, Ber-nard M’Mahon, a Philadelphia nurserymanand (with Hamilton) one of the two recipientsof the Lewis and Clark plant discoveries. Hisrecommendations for Ornamental Designs,and Planting of The Pleasure, or Flower-Garden, echo the descriptions of the Wood-lands, especially when he insists that screensbe used to prevent the entirety from beingtaken in at one view, "so that a spectator willbe agreeably surprised to find, that what ter-minated this prospect, only served as an

introduction to new beauties and varieties."19Variety harks back to the delights of the

Woodlands. It was also a hallmark of the land-scape theories of Thomas Whately, whosevery influential Observations of ModernGardening, published in London in 1870, Wil-liam Hamilton surely knew and, like so manytourists in England, surely used on his roundsof English estates. Mood was another effectthat Hamilton exploited. Cordial host thoughhe was, he was quite definite about when andhow his landscape should be experienced. Hemay have taken his cue from Whately. "Toevery view belongs a light which shews it toadvantage; every scene and every object is inits highest beauty only at particular hours ofthe day; and every place is, by its situation orits character, peculiarly agreable in certainmonths of the year."20 A visitor in 1798 con-tended that Hamilton carried "his fastidious-

ness about the countryside to such a pointthat he is in a dreadful humor when onecomes to visit it during low tide."21 That wasperhaps an exaggeration, but one of Hamil-ton’s 1787 invitations did specify that "shouldyou wish to see the Woodlands to any advan-tage, it must be in the morning at thisseason."22

Benjamin West’s painting of William Hamilton of the"Woodlands" and his mece Mrs. Anna HamiltonLyle. Part of a distinguished and promment family,Hamilton’s Scots-Amencan grandfather, Andrew(1676-1741), earned a considerable fortune as attor-ney for the Penns, held high public posts mcludmgAttorney-General and Speaker of the Assembly of theProvmce, and late in life won lasting fame as the"Day Star of the Revolution" for his celebrateddefense of freedom of the press in the 1735 libel caseof Peter Zenger. Hamilton’s uncle fames (1710-1793)was first native governor of the province (and loyalistand prisoner on parole during the Revolution), anearly president of the Philosophical Society, and apatron of Benjamin West and other artists. It wasfrom James that William inherited the mamstay ofhis income, the rents on the five hundred acres of landon which Lancaster, Pennsylvama, is situated.Courtesy of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

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I Hamilton Among the Botanists IEver since William Penn founded Philadel-phia as a "greene Country Towne," it hasbeen a lively center for botanists and hor-ticulturists. One of the most illustriouswas John Bartram (1699-1777) who livedjust south of the Woodlands and was asource of plants and information for Wil-liam Hamilton. Botanist to King George III,correspondent of Peter Collinson and Caro-lus Linnaeus, he introduced many Ameri-can plants to England. It was he and his sonWilliam who discovered the Frankliniaalong the Altamaha River in Georgia. Cul-tivated in their garden, it disappeared in thewild shortly after their discovery. All extantspecimens in North America derive fromlayering of their original tree.’Humphry Marshall (1722-1801), collector

of native plants, author of ArbustumAmericanum, or The American Grove, orAn Alphabetical Catalogue of Forest Treesand Shrubs, Natives of the AmericanUnited States, Arranged according to theLinnaean System (1785), and cousin of JohnBartram, lived in Chester, not far to thesouth of Philadelphia. A few letters survivein which Hamilton requests both plantsand information from Marshall, such aswhere over the mountains his servant candiscover "the oil nut, the Mentzegia or anything else that is curious."2Both John Lyon and Frederick Pursh were

among Hamilton’s gardeners. John Lyon

(d. 1818) devoted several years to exploringthe Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida and wasresponsible for introducing a number ofimportant plants into English gardens. Thegenus Lyonia commemorates his name, "anindefatigible collector of North Americanplants, who fell a victim to a dangerous epi-demic amidst those savage and romanticmountains which had so often been thetheatre of his labors."3The German-born Pursh (1774-1820) pub-

lished in 1814 the second flora of NorthAmerica north of Mexico, the Flora Ameri-cae Septentrionalis. It contained all theplants described by several botanists fromthe Lewis and Clark expedition. In its

preface he credited Hamilton’s collectionwith being "particularly valuable for fur-nishing me with a general knowledge of theplants of that country preparatory to moreextensive travels into the interior, for thediscovery of new and unknown species."

Endnotes1 John W. Harshberger, "The Old Gardens of Penn-

sylvania," The Garden Magazine, October 1920,page 78.

2 William Hamilton to Humphry Marshall, Letterof November 23, 1796, and undated letter. DreerCollection, HSP.

3 Thomas Nuttall, The Genera of North AmericanPlants, vol. 1. Philadelphia, 1818, page 266.

The tour of Hamilton’s pleasure groundseems always to have ended with an ascentfrom Mill Creek to the greenhouse. Flankedby hothouses, it is reported to have been 140feet long. As presented to visitors, loomingabove them as they approached, it was a

breathtaking sight, "than which nothing thathas preceded it can excite more admiration."Unless it was its contents-the plants listedin the Hamilton correspondence are

breathtaking in themselves. A visitor in 1809catalogued the greenhouse:

It contains nearly ten thousand plants, out of whichnumber may be reckoned between five and six thou- --

sand of different species, procured at much troubleand expense, from many remote parts of the globe,from South America, the Cape of Good Hope, theBrazils, Botany Bay, Japan, the East and West Indies,&c &c. This collection, for the beauty and rich var-iety of its exotics, surpasses any thing of the kmd

21

on this continent; and, among many other rareproductions to be seen, are the bread-fruit tree, cm-namon, allspice, pepper, mangoes, different sorts,sago, coffee from Bengal, Arabia, and the West-Indies,tea, green and bohea, mahogany, magnolias, Japanrose, rose apples, chenmolia, one of the mostesteemed fruits of Mexico, Bamboo, Indian god tree,iron tree of China, gmger, olea frangrans, and severalvarieties of the sugar cane, five species of which arefrom Otaheite. To this green-house so richly stored,too much praise can hardly be given. The curiousperson views it with delight, and the naturalist quitsit with regret . 23

Nor did Hamilton forget either orchard orkitchen garden in his concern with ornamen-tals. In a letter of June 12, 1790, he plaintivelybeseeches:

Pray have you had a plenty of peas & Beans? Have

you got Strawberries! are they good have the celeryplants put into the ground which was promised bythe gardener Morris-How many thousand cabbageplants have been planted out. The seeds must havebeen wretchedly bad if they have not produced thou-sand of plants. But if they faild a small matter wouldpurchase many pray are the pumpkins sowed or thepotatoes planted I am thus inquisitive because I amreally ignorant with respect to the state of all thesethings.24

And beyond his exotics and the edibles,beyond the Lewis and Clark plant materialsthat Jefferson sent him for cultivation, Hamil-ton was also himself collecting from thewilderness near and far, following Whately’sdictum, "The whole range of nature is opento the gardener, from the parterre to the forest;and whatever is agreable to the senses or theimagination, he may appropriate to the spothe is to improve: it is a part of his businessto collect into one place, the delights whichare generally dispersed through different spe-cies of country."25To say that Hamilton was obsessed with

plants is entirely justified. In 1784 the verylast thoughts he recorded on board ship as itentered open seas bound for England were for"Seeds to save & send: mimosa floridana, caro-lina sponge tree."26 Letters to his secretaryoften urge him to seek out particular plantsor send him down to the docks to see if any-thing new has come in on the India ships.Hamilton complains bitterly when he hears

of someone else’s having got hold of a newexotic or "curious" native plant that Mr. Smithhas failed to obtain. We are grateful that Mr.Smith was neither so interested in horticul-ture nor so resourceful at plant collecting ashis employer. A good deal of what we knowabout William Hamilton and the Woodlandsis owing to his secretary’s failure to anticipatehis master’s wishes and carry out orders, andto the consequent reminders and rebukes heelicited when Hamilton was away from home.We know much less about the years whengardeners of the caliber of John Lyon andFrederick Pursh were in his employ.Hamilton was well known and often noted

for his lack of generosity with at least certainplants and certain persons. Bernard M’Mahoncomplained of it in a letter to Jefferson,27 andit can be found as well in Hamilton’s own cor-respondence, as for instance with a China rosethat was not to get into others’ hands as wellas admonitions that no one should be allowedalone in the pot and tub enclosures.28 But itshould be remembered that those were thetimes when, as Andrew Jackson Downingnoted, "the introduction of rare exotics wasattended with a vast deal of risk and trouble."Hamilton is credited with introducing severalplants into cultivation in North America,most notably the ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), theLombardy poplar (Populus nigra ’Italica’), theailanthus (Ailanthus altissima), and the Nor-way maple [Acer platanoides).29 Individually,any one of these four species would have con-stituted a significant introduction. Taken asa group, their impact on the cultivated land-scape of North America has been enormous.Like all avid gardeners William Hamilton’s

work was never finished. In an article on theWoodlands dated 1809, when Hamilton hadbeen hard at it for at least twenty years andprobably many more, when he was sixty-fouryears old, laid low by gout and only four yearsfrom his death, a visitor reported "much stillremains to be done, for the perfecting it in allthe capabilities which Nature, in her bound-less profusion, has bestowed."30We cannot know how William Hamilton

displayed his collection of exotics and curious

22

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natives, combined foreign importations withnative wilderness, contrasted open and closedspaces, or arrayed colors, textures, shapes. Nordo we know exactly how he used the naturalshaping of the ground-the genius of theplace-as inspiration for his groupings; inshort, whether he achieved a unified work oflandscape art. But given the descriptions,given Thomas Jefferson’s strong approba-tion-"the chastest model of gardening whichI have ever seen out of England"31-and thehigh praise of others, given William Hamil-ton’s own eye and constant concern for beauty,there is a high probability that he succeeded.He was aware that he was bringing English

models in architecture and landscaping toAmerica, and in so doing he knew he servedhis country, if for no other reason thanbecause Thomas Jefferson often told him so.The landscape he adapted at the Woodlandshad been fashioned by and for the aristocracy,but in this country it was to play its mostimportant role in a decidedly democraticprocess. Birch, who included the Woodlandsin his Country Seats of the United States,sought to "promote the Fine Arts and

propagate Taste," to spread it more widelyamong the populace of the young country.M’Mahon’s readership seems to have encom-passed all who both read and gardened. If, asit appears, he took the Woodlands as a modelfor the laying out of pleasure grounds, thenthe Woodlands would have had wide influenceon the many Americans who relied on hisadvice throughout the first half of thenineteenth century. Thus the Woodlands isnothing less than a crucial way station on theroad that led from English country seat toAmerican country seat to rural cemetery tothe great public parks of the nineteenth

century-parks that a century later remainthe quintessential American idea of a park.The Woodlands began to decline soon after

Hamilton’s death in 1813. "Life is short, artis long"-unless it is the art of the landscape.The fabulous collection of tender exotics wasscattered, and gradually all else that requiredcare died. His successors had little knowledge,taste, or money. The Woodlands’ conversioninto a rural cemetery in 1840 was applaudedas a method of preserving the splendidestate-the cemetery’s charter asserted that"these groves and those prospects will besacredly preserved"-but although it did savethe mansion, it could not save the landscape.32The entire area is much changed. As long agoas 1864 Joshua Francis Fisher recorded:

The city out-skirts have encroached everywhere now.Ugly buildings rise where meadows and grovesbounded the quiet river. The trees around the mar-

gin. have been cut down for wharves and a rail-

way. The fine woods of Gray’s Gardens, the moredistant plantations of the Bartrams, the picturesqueprojecting rocks m the foreground, over all of whichwe used to look while we traced the meanders of the

tranquil Schuylkill on its way to the Delaware, allare gone! and the primitive floating bridge has givenplace to the great tasteless wooden viaduct of theBaltimore Railroad, which spoils the landscape andobstructs the view 33

Time has served only to add more factories,more oil tanks, more decay and dereliction.On the grounds themselves sweeps, curves,projections are obscured. Walks, borders,lawns, arbors, thickets, and groves are gone.Bulbous roots, ranunculus, double convovu-lus, franklinia, double peach, Portugueselaurels, and even the gmkgos 2014 all are gone.The Elysium on the Schuylkill, WilliamHamilton’s Woodlands, has given way to theunkempt litter of modern America.

A 1936 photograph of the male gmkgo tree m Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia. Planted m 1785 by WilliamHamilton, this was long considered the oldest gmkgo in North Amenca. In 1981 it was 68 feet tall and 30 inchesin diameter. Unfortunately this tree, along with a nearby female of approximately the same age, was cut downin the mid-1980’s, followmg an incident in which the caretaker’s dog took sick after eatmg some of the seedsproduced by the female tree. This regrettable incident has settled the long-runmng debate about which is theoldest ginkgo m the United States: there is now no doubt that it is the male specimen m Bartram’s Gardenjust a few mlles from the Woodlands. Photograph by R. H. True, from the Archives of the Arnold Arboretum.

24

Endnotes1 Edwm M. Betts, ed., Thomas Jefferson’s Garden Book,

Letter of July, 1806. Philadelphia: American

Philosophical Society, 1944, pages 322-323.2 Sophia Cadwalader, ed., Recollections of Joshua

Francis Fisher [1864]. Boston: Updike Publishers, 1929,page 218

3 William Hamilton to Thomas Parke, Letter of Novem-ber 2, 1785. Society Collection, Historical Society ofPennsylvania [hereafter HSP].

4 William Hamilton to Thomas Parke, Letter of Septem-ber 24, 1785.

5 William Hamilton to Benjamin H. Smith, Letter ofSeptember 30, 1785. Smith Collection, HSP.

6 Edward J. Nygren, "From View to Vision," m Views andVisions- Amencan Landscape Before 1830, ed. EdwardJ. Nygren. Washington, D.C.: The Corcoran Gallery ofArt, 1986, page 17.

7 Edward C. Carter II, ed , The Virginia Journals of Ben-jamin Henry Latrobe, 1795-1798, vol. 1. New Haven:Yale University Press, 1977, page 465.

8 Carter, ed., Virginia Journals, page 3749 William Birch, The Country Seats of the United

States Springland, Pa., by the author, 1808, unpaged.10 William Gilpm, Observations. Cumberland and

Westmoreland (1789), quoted by Nygren, Views andVisions, page 54.

11 The Life and Anecdotes of William Russell Birch,Enamel Painter, by Himself, typescript. Society Mis-cellaneous Collection, HSP, pages 19-20.

12 Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Under Their Vine and FigTree- Travels Through America m 1797-1799, tr. anded. Metchie J. E. Budka. Elizabeth, N. J: GrassmannPublishing Company, 1965, page 52

13 William P. and Julia P. Cutler, eds., Journals and Cor-respondence of Rev.Manasseh Cutler, vol. 2. Cincin-nati : R. Clarke, 1888, page 144.

14 "L.G." to her sister Eliza, Letter of June 15 [1788?]. Soci-ety Miscellaneous Collection, HSP.

15 John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., The Diaries of GeorgeWashington, vol. 3. Boston: Houghton Mifflm, 1925,pages 220-221.

16 David Freeman Hawke, Benjamin Rush, Revolution-ary Gadfly. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Mermll, 1971, page356.

17 William Hamilton to Benjamin H. Smith, Letter ofNovember 2, 1785. Smith Collection, HSP.

18 "L.G." to her sister Eliza, June 15 [1788?].19 Bernard M’Mahon, The American Gardener’s Calen-

dar. Philadelphia: B. Graves, 1806, pages 55-56.20 Thomas Whately, Observations of Modern Garden-

ing New York: Garland, 1982, pages 242-243.21 Niemcewicz, Under Their Vine, page 52.22 William Hamilton to Jasper Yeates, Letter of Novem-

ber 30, 1787. Yeates Collection, HSP.23 Oliver Oldschool, pseud , "American Scenery for the

Portfolio, ’The Woodlands; " Port Folio II, no. 6 (Decem-ber 1809), page 507.

24 William Hamilton to Benjamin H. Smith. Smith Col-lection, HSP.

25 Whately, Observations, page 256.26 William Hamilton to Benjamin H. Smith, Letter of

October 8, 1784. Smith Collection, HSP.27 Betts, ed., Jefferson’s Garden Book, Letter of January

3, 1809, page 401.28 William Hamilton to Benjamin H. Smith, Letter of

June 1, 1789 Smith Collection, HSP.29 Andrew Jackson Downing, A Treatise on the Theory

and Practice of Landscape Gardening Adapted toNorth America. Little Compton, R.I.1 TheophrastusPublishers, 1977, page 26; and John W. Harshberger,"The Old Gardens of Pennsylvania," The Garden Maga-zine (April 1921), pages 120-121.

30 Oliver Oldschool, pseud , "American Scenery," page507.

31 Betts, Letter of May 7, 1809, page 411.32 Charter of the Woodlands Cemetery Company.

Philadelphia, 1845, page 1.33 Cadwalader, Recollections, pages 218-219.

Karen Madsen is a student of landscape design and history.

A New Magnolia Blooms in Boston

Peter Del Tredici and Stephen A. Spongberg

Magnolia zenii flowered for the first time outside its native China in 1988.

Without a doubt China is home to more spe-cies of hardy ornamental plants than anyother country in the world, and many westernbotanical gardens have long histories of

introducing them into cultivation. TheArnold Arboretum, principally through theefforts of E. H. Wilson, was a well-publicizedleader in this area early in this century, whenplant introduction from temperate Asia wasat its peak. It is remarkable that even todaynew species of hardy woody plants continueto be discovered in China, presenting ongoingopportunities for plant introduction into thewest.

One such "new" plant is Magnolia zenii, anextremely rare, endemic tree from JiangsuProvince, China. It was first collected onMarch 31, 1933, in flower, by W C. Cheng inChu-yun Hsien on Mt. Boa-hua (Paohua), at250-300 meters in elevation and described byhim in the same year. The tree was firstbrought into cultivation at the Jiangsu Insti-tute of Botany and Botanical Garden,Memorial Sun Yat-sen, in Nanjing. In October1980, the Director of this institution, Prof. HeShan-an, presented seeds collected from theonly known wild population of M. zenii to Dr.Stephen Spongberg of the Arnold Arboretumand Dr. T. R. Dudley of the United StatesNational Arboretum, who were visitingChina at the time as members of the firstSino-American Botanical Expedition.Nine seeds were given to Dr. Spongberg, of

which five were viable. These were given athree-month cold stratification treatment,after which they were sown in the DanaGreenhouses of the Arnold Arboretum onFebruary 10, 1981. Four seedlings germinated

within a month and grew vigorously enoughto be set out in the nursery in spring 1982. In1984 the largest individual was planted infront of the Hunnewell Visitor Center whereit has continued its rapid growth. By the fallof 1987 this individual was approximately 3.5meters tall and had set about a dozen flowerbuds, the first of which opened on March 30,1988. It has flowered again this year, remark-ably opening its first bud again on March 30,producing a total of 49 flowers. Its three

siblings, planted in a much more exposed site

Magnolia zenii Cheng. A. a flowering branch; B. afruitmg branch; C. a flower to show the stamens andcarpels; D. a stamen; E. a mature carpel; F. a seed.Note the nine tepals. From Cheng, 1933.

26

along Goldsmith Brook, have not fared nearlyas well, the largest being only about 2 meterstall. No doubt the shelter afforded by the Visi-tor Center has contributed to this differencein performance.According to Dr. Frank Santamour, the U.S.

National Arboretum has two plants ofM. zenii raised from the seed presented to Dr.

Dudley. Both are now growing in the Arbore-tum’s Asian Valley garden, but neither of thembloomed in 1988. This makes Arnold Arbore-tum #1545-80-B the first individual of its spe-cies to bloom in North America, and perhapsthe first to bloom anywhere outside of China.The flowers of M. zenii are extremely

fragrant, and the tepals (the technical term

The overall habit of Magnolia zenii, m flower, April 1989. Photo by Rdcz and Debreczy.

27

Magnolia zenii at the Arnold Arboretum, specimen1545-80-B, in flower and fruit, 1988. Note the six

tepals. Drawing by Zsolt Debreczy and Nora Groh.

used to describe the petal-like parts of thetypical magnolia flower) are marked with rose-purple streaks on the lower half of their outersurfaces. Each tepal, when fully expanded, is7 to 8 centimeters long and 2 to 3 centimeterswide. Cheng’s original description states thatthe flowers have nine tepals, arranged in threewhorls of three. Flowers produced by1545-80-B in 1988 and 1989, however, had onlysix or seven tepals. This sub-normal numberwas due to the fact that on all of the flowersproduced by the Arboretum’s plant, either twoor three of the innermost whorl of three tepalsfailed to expand beyond one centimeter inlength. It will be interesting to see if this ten-dency to expand less than the full comple-ment of nine tepals persists as the plant ages.Magnolia zenii opens its flowers very early

in Boston, about two weeks before M. denu-data and about three weeks before either M.

kobus or M. stellata. While such precocious-ness does not bode well for the wide horticul-tural use of the species in eastern NorthAmerica (where destructive spring frosts arethe rule rather than the exception), M. zeniimay possess other traits, such as its

pronounced upright habit of growth, that mayturn out to be useful in future magnoliahybidization.As a juvenile plant, M. zenii roots readily

from cuttings. During the six years it has beenunder propagation at the Dana Greenhouses,the best results were achieved with softwood

cuttings, approximately 15 centimeters long,taken between June 15 and 30. The base ofeach cutting was dipped for five seconds in asolution of 5000 parts per million IBA dis-solved in 50% ethyl alcohol and 50% water,and then the cuttings were placed in thegreenhouse under intermittent mist. Withthis treatment, 7 out of 10 cuttings rooted in1982, 21 out of 26 in 1985, and 7 out of 8 in1986. These rooted cuttings of M. zenii havebeen distributed in a limited manner by theArnold Arboretum since 1984.

References

Cheng, W. C. 1933. Magnohaceae, in Vascular plants ofNanjmg II, by C. P’ei. Cont. Biol. Lab., Sci. Soc.China, Botany Series 8(3): 291-293.

Del Tkedici, P. 1983. Magnolia zenii. Magnolia 19 (1): 19.

Dudley, T. R. 1983. Magnolia zenu: a rare magnoliarecently introduced into cultivation. Magnolia19(1): 20-22.

Shan-an, H., Y. Zhi-Bmg, W. Mmg-Jun, Z. Shi-xian, S. Jia-yu, and T. Jin-chuan. 1987. Investigation andintroduction of some rare and endangered spe-cies in Nanjmg Botanical Garden, Mem. SunYat-Sen, pp. 255-260, in Botanic Gardens andthe World Conservation Strategy London: Aca-demic Press.

Spongberg, S. A. 1981. Magnolia salicifolia, an arboretumintroduction. ArnoMia 41(2): 50-59.

Peter Del Tredici is the editor of Arnoldia and StephenA. Spongberg is a research taxonomist at the ArnoldArboretum and editor of the Journal of the ArnoldArboretum.

Bamboos at the Arnold Arboretum-A MidwinterPerformance Evaluation

Gary L. Kollei

This unusual group of plants is hardier than most gardeners think.

Bamboos are woody, evergreen grasses grownextensively in Asia for food and shelter, aswell as for landscape planting. There arebelieved to be 60 to 70 genera and approxi-mately 1,200 species of bamboo worldwide,mostly growing in warm temperate or tropi-cal climates. Only one species is native to theUnited States, Arundinaria gigantea, whichhas a natural range from Virginia, Kentucky,and southern Ohio to the Gulf of Mexico.Bamboo has been cultivated for centuries

in Asia and is revered for its strength, its flex-ibility, and its utility. The fact that it keepsits uniform green color throughout the yearis seen as expressing virtue, persistence, andan unyielding spirit in the face of severe con-ditions. As a result of these qualities, theAsian people have used them extensively intheir gardens to create places of reflection,dedication, and withdrawal, where the

rustling sounds of the stems and foliage andthe fluttering shadows cast by the leaves canbe fully appreciated.The adaptability of bamboo is remarkable.

In nature they grow in plains, hilly areas, andhigh-altitude mountains, and in all soil typesexcept those that are excessivly wet, dry, oralkaline. In the northeastern United States,little is known about the hardiness of Asianbamboos or their growth potential. Mentionthe word bamboo to most gardeners and theycringe in horror, thinking only of its reputa-tion for invasiveness and aggressiveness. Fewknow there are also bamboos that are onlymodest growers and easily kept in bounds.

The growth rhythms of bamboo are differ-ent from those of many woody plants. As thebamboo shoot, known as a culm, emergesfrom the ground, it is a fully preformed stem.It has the diameter it will always have, andit displays all the joints that will make up theentire length of the culm. Growth is strongand vigorous, and culms attain their fullheight in a few weeks. The culm neverincreases in height or diameter even thoughit may live for many years. The great strengthand toughness of the bamboo arise from itsrhizome, or underground stem, whichproduces the new sprouts and forms the struc-tural foundation of the plant. Bamboos growwhenever soil and air temperatures are highenough to allow for such activity. When thestem is expanding above ground, the rhizomeis dormant; and when the stem is fully grown,the rhizome becomes active. After planting,it generally takes bamboos three to five grow-ing seasons for the rhizome system to developenough size and vigor for the aerial parts ofthe plant to achieve their full size.Because the rhizome system densely

invades the top foot of soil, bamboos tend tobe excellent plants for protecting the earth andpreventing soil erosion. Most bamboo rhi-zomes terminate in a sharp point, whichfacilitates their colonizations of new ground,and makes them extremely difficult to con-tain in the garden. They can penetrate cracksin concrete, bricks, or rocks, and have beenreported to emerge directly through asphalt.While the majority of bamboo roots and rhi-

29

Selected examples of culm habit, illustrated diagra-matically. (A) Sasa palmata; (B) Sinocalamus beecheya-nus ; (C) Phyllostachys nigra; (D) Schizostachyumhainanense; (E) Dinochloa scandens; (F) Smocalamusaffinis; (G) Bambusa textilis; (H) Arundinaria amabilis.Reprinted with permission from McClure, 1967.

zomes occupy the top foot of soil, a small per-centage of them grow deeper, and these are amajor impediment to effective containmentin garden settings. I once asked a Japanesegardener how deep a barrier is used in Japanto contain the spread of a bamboo. He smiled,and said that even when a concrete barrier ameter and a half deep is installed, many bam-boos still manage to escape.

Since most species of bamboo flower onlyat highly infrequent intervals, there is a severeshortage of flowering specimens in mostbotanical herbaria. This lack of reproductivespecimens has forced botanists to define manybamboo species solely on the basis of their

vegetative characteristics. Needless to say, thissituation has led to incredible confusion inthe botanical literature. Most bamboos, espe-cially those that are widely cultivated, arelisted under a wide assortment of scientificnames. Without a doubt, many of the namescurrently used at the Arnold Arboretum arenot the most up-to-date, since the expertsthemselves seldom agree about the correctname for a given species.Arnold Arboretum bamboo grows without

any special care or winter protection. Newplantings are started in the spring usingvigorous, container-grown stock. Thisminimizes root disturbance and gives theplants the entire summer to become estab-lished in their new growing environment.Bamboos need adequate moisture during thisperiod of establishment, but with time theybecome more drought tolerant. The growth ofbamboo can be stimulated by periodic appli-cations of balanced fertilizer in April, June,and September. Once plantings are estab-lished, fertilizer is required only to encouragecrop production (for the commercial bambooshoots) or to stimulate greater culm diameter.

The Arboretum Bamboos in Winter

The Arnold Arboretum has grown a few bam-boos for decades, but over the last ten yearsthe collection has been expanded to the pointwhere 26 taxa are now successfully estab-lished out-of-doors. When we began adding toour collection some ten years ago, I was surethat most species would not be hardy and thatharsh winter temperatures would restrain thevigor of those that survived. I now realize thatmany species are not only fully root hardy, butalso completely top hardy, and that a greatmany of them, once established, exhibitexuberant growth. I am amazed by theirtoughness and their tenacity, and fearful oftheir advances now that many have thrivedbeyond all expectations. As a result of thisexperience, the Arnold Arboretum is begin-ning to establish a track record of how bam-boos perform in our New England climate,and how they might be integrated into land-scape designs.

30

The two basic types of bamboo rhizome, (A) pachymorph or clumping, consisting of short, thick segments thatdevelop relatively close to the parent culm; (B) leptomoiph or running, consisting of long slender segments thatdevelop relatively far from the parent culm. Reprinted with permission from McClure, 1967.

Not all bamboos are evergreen as far northas Boston. To determine which ones were, Idecided to make a midwinter observation tourof the bamboos growing out-of-doors at theArnold Arboretum. I made my tour on Febru-

ary 8, 1989, a sunny day with a light dustingof snow, and temperatures in the upper twen-ties. As I began my survey, I looked upon thelack of evergreen character as disadvantageousfrom a landscape design standpoint. Once outon the grounds inspecting the plants closely,I found many with foliage bleached to beige,a warm color that I found to be an attractiveaddition to the dull browns, grays, and darkgreens of the New England winter landscape.In addition I enjoyed the gentle sounds ofleaves brushing against one another, whichseemed to create the illusion of endless

whispering.

So that the reader might get to know theseplants, I have prepared the following list ofArboretum bamboos, along with a map show-ing their planting locations (p. 36). The bestway to learn about bamboos is to observethem firsthand through several seasonal

changes. The notes that follow are based onmidwinter characteristics, and readers shouldnote that the summer colors are green, exceptfor the variegated or colored foliage varieties.

Arundinaria humilisMitford

1352-83; map 33-b-4

Planted March 1985.This running bamboo isgrowing in light shade and typical acid loam,with excellent water and air drainage. Thevigorous, upright culms are 4 to 6 feet (1-2 m)tall and form a dense clump. Foliage is 40%green and 60% tawny beige.

31

Arundinaria pumilaMitford1353-83; map 27-b-3

Planted March 1985. This plant is growing intypical acid loam, with excellent water andair drainage. The culms are 4 to 6 feet (1-2 m)tall, with a somewhat rangy habit due tocrowding by a neighboring plant. The foliageis 95% beige and 5% green.

Arundinaria pygmaeaAsch. & Graebn.

262-85; map 33-d-2 .

Planted March 1985. This species is growingin full sun to light shade, in acid soil withexcellent water and air drainage. The culmsstand 2 to 3 feet (0.5-1 m) tall and are denselycrowded together. The plant is extremely inva-sive and forms a good ground cover whenplanted in a mass. The foliage is 100% beige.

Arundinaria simoniiA. & C. Riv."Simon Bamboo"

1357-83; map 27-b-3

Planted March 1985. This bamboo is growingin the middle of a bed of English ivy, in moder-ate shade, and in dry, gravelly soil. It is a weakgrower, with culms growing only about 1 foot(0.3 m) tall. This lack of vigor is probably dueto insufficient cultural support rather than tolack of hardiness. Foliage is 100% beige.

Arundinaria variegata(Sieb.) Makino"Dwarf Whitestripe Bamboo"474-86; map 32-c-l

Planted spring 1986. This bamboo is growingin dry soil with sharp drainage, in the shadeof a large specimen of Franklinia alatamaha.This is one of the most desirable of the dwarfvariegated bamboos with culms that stand 1to 2 feet (0.5 m) tall and form a small denseclump. The foliage is tawny brown.

Arundinaria viridi-striata(Sieb.) Makino22510; map 15-c

Planted in the early 1900’s, this bamboo isgrowing in a bottomland situation with ade-quate moisture throughout the year. Theplant has spread vigorously and occupies alarge area. Growth is restrained by mowing thelawn around it. Culms are 3 feet (1 m) tall andthe foliage is tawny beige with no sign ofgreen. The plant would be taller if it were notcut to the ground annually with a rotarymower. This planting has a handsome winterappearance in contrast to the drab grays andbrowns of the surrounding lawn and woods.This plant adapts well to underplantings ofbulbs such as Galanthus, Scilla, Chionodoxaand Puschkinia.

A female giant panda feedmg on the shoots of a Farge-sia bamboo in its native habitat in the WolongReserve in central China. Photo courtesy of GeorgeB. Shaller.

32 .

Fargesia spathaceaFranchet

[ = Sinaiundinaria murielae andThamnocalamus spathaceus)"Umbrella Bamboo"

851-81; map 32-c-2

Planted spring 1981. This elegant bamboo isgrowing in full sun and typical acid loam withexcellent water and air drainage. The culmsstand 6 to 9 feet (2-3 m) tall and form a large,non-invasive clump with a graceful fountain-like habit. The edge of each leaf is beige-colored, while the central portion is brightgreen, creating a delicate texture in the winterlandscape. This species is very hardy and hasbeen cultivated at the Arnold Arboretumsince 1960. In China, the umbrella bamboogrows at elevations between 3,000 and 10,000feet (1000-3000 m), and is often an importantfood item in the diet of the giant panda.

Fargesia spathacea in its native habitat in Fang Hsien,China, at 8000 feet (2500 m). The plants are 10-15 feet(4-5 m) high with yellow culms. This photo was takenby E. H. Wilson on June 19, 1910, and labeled Arun-dinaria murielae.

Phyllostachys aureosulcataMcClure

"Yellowgroove Bamboo"707-77; map 32-a-3

Planted March 1985. This bamboo is growingin full sun and typical acid loam with goodwater and air drainage. The culms are 10 to12 feet (3-4 m) tall and stiffly upright. Theyare bright green, marked with a yellow groove.The plant is well established and showsvigorous spreading tendencies. The foliage isnearly 100% green.

Phyllostachys bambusoidesSieb. & Zucc."Giant Timber Bamboo"

369-80, 490-80; map 50-c

Planted spring 1980. This species is growingin light shade and poor-quality dry soil. It iscompletely exposed to winter winds. Theculms are 6 to 9 feet (2-3 m) tall and displaylittle vigor and little spread. The foliage is100% tan in color.

Phyllostachys bissetiiMcClure

1405-84; map 27-b-2

Planted July 1985. This bamboo is growing inmoderate shade and dry soil. The culms are1 foot (0.3 m) tall and lack vigor, possibly dueto the fact that the plant was pulled up by van-dals shortly after planting. Foliage is 80%

beige and 20% green.

Phyllostachys congestaRendle371-80; map 50-c

Planted spring 1980. This bamboo is growingin full sun and poor-quality dry soil with fullexposure to winter winds. The culms are 6 to9 feet (2-3 m) tall and stiffly upright. Thefoliage is 95% green and is very attractive inthe winter.

33

Phyllostachys dulcisMcClure"Sweetshoot Bamboo"405-68; map 16-d

Planted spring 1970. This bamboo is growingin light to moderate shade in rich, moist bot-tomland soil. The upright culms are 10 to 12feet (3-4 m) tall, vigorously spreading, andhave formed a dense impenetrable thicket.The new shoots of this species are considereda delicacy by the Chinese.

Phyllostachys flexuosaA. & C. Riv.373-80 and 532-80; maps 50-c and 32-c-l

Planted spring 1980. This bamboo is growingin full sun and moist, rich soil at one site andpoor, dry soil at the other. Those plants in thebetter soil have become our most "vigorousbamboo, spreading rapidly and occupying alarge area. The culms are 12 to 15 feet (4-5 m)tall and broadly arching, presenting a verygraceful appearance. The foliage is 95% greenwith only light winter damage on the sunnyside of the clump. The leaves remain fullygreen until early spring when, in response tothe brighter light and warmer temperatures,they turn beige.

Phyllostachys makinoiHayata374-80; map 50-c

Planted spring 1980. This bamboo is growingin light shade and poor-quality dry soil, fullyexposed to the winter wind. The culms are 6feet (2 m) tall, and the foliage moderatelygreen with some beige around the edges. Theplant is not particularly vigorous.

Phyllostachys meyeriMcClure

375-80; map 50-c"Meyer Bamboo"

Planted spring 1980. This Chinese bamboo isgrowing in full sun in moist, well-drained soil.

At the edge of the clump, the culms average6 feet (2 m) tall, rising to 12 feet (4 m) in thecenter. A moderate to strong grower; all theouter leaves are tan, while the inner onesretain some green.

Phyllostachys nidulariaMunro

376-80; map 50-c

Planted spring 1980. This bamboo is growingin light shade and poor-quality dry soil, fullyexposed to the winter wind. The culms are 6to 9 feet (2-3 m) tall, and all the leaves are tan.The plant is not vigorous.

Phyllostachys nigra ’Hale’(Lodd.) Munro"Dwarf Blackstem Bamboo"

492-80; map 32-c-2, 32-c-4

Planted spring 1981. This distinctive bamboo,with black canes, is growing in full sun andtypical acid loam. A strong grower, it hasspread over a sizable area. The vigorous culmsgrow up to 6 feet (2 m) tall and are somewhatreflexed in their habit. In their second year,they turn a beautiful jet-black color. Thefoliage is 50% tan and 50% green. Normallythe culms of this species develop their blackstems in their second year, but the culms ofthe cultivar ’Hale’ color during their firstseason.

Phyllostachys nudaMcClure

369-85; map 49-d

Planted spring 1987. This bamboo is growingin light to moderate shade in a rich, moistsoil. The culms are 6 feet (2 m) tall andupright in habit. The foliage is all green withvery little tan. According to reports, this is thehardiest of the phyllostachid bamboos,perhaps because of its ability to drop all itsleaves in response to extreme winters.

34

Phyllostachys viridis(Young) McClure .380-80; map 50-c

Planted spring 1980. This bamboo is growingin full sun and poor dry soil, fully exposed towinter winds. The culms are 8 to 10 feet (2-3m) tall. The leaves are mostly green, withbeige around the edges. The plant does notappear to be particularly vigorous.

The rhizome of Phyllostachys viridis. Reprinted withpermission from McClure, 1967.

Pseudosasa japonica(Sieb. & Zucc.) Makino

,

"Arrow Bamboo"

382-80, 1355-83; maps 16-d and 27-b-l

Planted March 1984. This bamboo is growingin light shade and poor-quality dry soil. Theculms are about 3 feet (1 m) tall and form adense clump. The foliage is all tawny beigeand extremely handsome in appearance.

Pseudosasa japonica var.tsutsumianaYanagita1356-83; map 27-b-l

Planted March 1985. This slow-growing bam-boo is planted in light shade and poor-qualitydry soil. The culms are about 2 feet (0.6 m)tall and form a small, dense clump. Thefoliage is 95% beige. The winter foliage onthis cultivar is not as attractive as that of the

species.

Sasa palmata(Marliac) Nakai17578; map 16-d

Planted in 1891 with stock from Sapporo,Japan. This very hardy bamboo is growing ina moist shady bottomland. The plant hasformed a large, dense colony with culms 6 to8 feet (2-3 m) tall. The thick, leathery leavesare about 15 inches (0.2 m) long and 3 inches(0.07 m) wide, giving the plant a bold, tropi-cal appearance. An extremely hardy, rapidlyspreading bamboo. About one-third of theArboretum’s colony flowered in May 1977, fol-lowing a brush fire that occurred in 1976. Theplanting died back after flowering, and tookabout five years to recover.

Sasa tessellata(Munro) Mak. & Shib.

1354-83; map 33-b-4

Planted March 1985. This bamboo is growingin light shade and typical acid loam with goodwater and air drainage. The culms are 4 to 6feet (1.5-2 m) tall, and have formed a densecolony that is spreading vigorously. This plantproduces the largest leaves of any bamboogrowing at the Arnold Arboretum, 24 inches(0.6 m) long and 4 inches (0.1 m) wide. Theyare 90% green in winter.

Sasa veitchii(Carr.) Rehd."Kumazasa"

1390-78; mapl-a, 2-b)Planted spring 1983. This bamboo is growingin moderate shade and moist soil. The culmsstand 18 inches (0.5 m) tall and are spreadingslowly. The foliage is 75% beige and 25%green. On many of the leaves one can stilldetect the characteristic marginal stripe as adifferent shade of beige. During summer thefoliage is solid green, but in early October atan border develops along the margin of eachleaf. From this point, through the followingspring, the plant is visually most attractive.This species is used extensively in Japanesegarden design (see inside front cover).

35

Sasa veitchii. A portion of a plant showing the rhi-zome, the diffuse clump habit, and the leafy culmwith determinate inflorescences. Reprinted with per-mission from McClure, 1967.

Semiarundinaria fastuosa(Marl.) Makino"Narihira Bamboo"

263-85; map 32-c-l

Planted March 1985. This bamboo is growingin full sun and rich, well-drained soil. Theculms are 6 to 8 feet (2-3 m) tall and verystraight. This plant is a strong runner. Theleaves are mostly green toward the interior ofthe clump.

Shibataea kumasaca(Zoll.) Nakai"Okamezasa"

264-85; map 33-b-4

Planted March 1985. This bamboo is growingin full sun to light shade, in typical acid loamwith excellent water and air drainage. Theculms are 2 to 3 feet (0.7-1 m) tall, but manyof them have been bent over by ice and snow.The plant is a slow but steady spreader, even-tually forming a dense clump. The foliage is90% green.

Sources

Dajun, W, and S. Shao-Jm. 1987. Bamboos of China. Port-land, Oregon: Timber Press.

Freeman-Mitford, A. B. 1896. The Bamboo Garden. NewYork: Macmillan.

McClure, F. A. 1967. The Bamboos. A Fresh Perspective.Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press.

Ohmberger, D, and J. Goerrmgs. 1983-1988. The Bamboosof the World Odenthal, Germany: privatelyprinted.

Okamure, H., and Y. Tamaka. 1986. The HorticulturalBamboo Species in Japan. Kobe, Japan: privatelyprinted.

Shaller, G. B., H. Jmchu, P. Wenshi, and Z. Jing. 1985. TheGiant Pandas of Wolong Chicago: Universityof Chicago Press.

Stover, R. 1983 The Bamboo Book. Thstin, Calif.: Endan-gered Species Press.

Young, R. A., and J. R. Haun. 1961. Bamboo m the UnitedStates: Description, Culture and Utilization.Washington, D.C.: U.S.D.A. Agriculture Hand-book No. 193.

Gary L. Koller is managing horticulturist at the ArnoldArboretum and teaches Landscape Architecture at theGraduate School of Design, Harvard University.

ERRATA, WINTER 1989 ISSUE:

page 62. Photo credit should read: Photographby Malcolm Woronoff, Air Photos of NewEngland, Inc. with orthographic correction bySwissair Photo + Surveys, Ltd.

page 67. The oak should be identified as

Quercus velutina not Quercus alba.

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The Potting Shed

Friends of the Arboretum Invitedto Art Preview ReceptionMembers are invited to a preview reception of"Paintings in Gardens and Glasshouses" onFriday June 9 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the HunnewellVisitor Center. (Please R.S.V.P. to 524-1718.)Andover painter Tamara Elizabeth Krendelreturns to the Arnold Arboretum with a newexhibition of her watercolors and oils of green-house interiors, gardens, and an occasionallandscape to delight horticultural enthusiastsand art collectors. The show "Paintings inGardens and Glasshouses" opens to the publicon June 12. Dealing directly with subjects asdiverse as rhododendrons, delphiniums andday lilies, Krendel transforms the shape ofgrowing plants and botanical settings intocompositions of light. Well-known for herpaintings of greenhouse interiors that capture

the way light shining through glass affectsthe colors of petals and leaves, Krendel says,"I try to get close to the mysterious spirit andpoetry of light and place."

Many will remember Krendel’s show"Paintings in Glass Houses" at the Arnold in1985. She has also exhibited at Widener Uni-

versity Art Museum in Chester, PA, and theCosmos Club in Washington DC. She re-ceived her MFA at the University of Pennsyl-vania in 1979 and pursued post-graduatestudies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts inAntwerp, Belgium. Krendel’s work will be onview in the Hunnewell Visitors Center fromJune 12 through September 18, daily, 10 a.m. to4 p.m.

Greenhouse Thrives onVolunteers

Recently I dropped by the greenhouse andlong-time volunteer, Les Oliver, was sittingat a work table separating seeds from Cedarof Lebanon cones. I stopped to chat andasked him how he came to volunteer at thearboretum.

"I’ve been here since retiring in 1972 afterreading in arnoldia that the arboretum waslooking for volunteers." As he remembers it,his first assignment was labeling plants andhe worked under chief propagator AlFordham.

"I knew I wanted to work in the greenhouse," he said, "because it is the center ofthe institution, its meristem, so to speak."

Although I’d been told that Les is thegreenhouse’s expert in seeds, he was toomodest to comment on that accolade. Themost that I could get him to say about hisexpertise was, "I guess I do a lot of seedwork, especially getting seeds ready for

(Continued on page 4)

2

Don’t Miss the 7th Annual PlantSale and Rare Plant Auction

Sunday, September 179 a.m. to 4 p.m.Case Estates in Weston, MA

Each year’s Plant Sale features many of thetrees and shrubs that you read about andseldom can locate. But rarity is not the onlyconsideration in selecting plants for the sale,the Arboretum and the Associates also lookfor plants whose unique characteristics makethem most suitable for specimen or accentuse. For example, this year’s sale includes:Actinidia kolomikta, a vine native to Northeast-ern Asia, Japan and China, which will growto 20’ or more in the Boston area. It is knownfor its showy foliage: heart-shaped leaveswith pink. Acer triflorum, or three-flowermaple tree, is native to Manchuria and Korea.It has exfoliating ash-brown bark and its fallfoliage is rich yellow and red with an overalleffect of orange. It grows from 20-30’. And,Franklinia alatamaha which is not known to

grow wild anywhere. It has brilliant orangeor crimson autumn color and its beautiful

large, waxy white flowers bloom in autumn.Each year the Arboretum Associate’s

plant auctions offer a wide selection of choiceplants from nurseries and private collections.Proceeds from these auctions have supportedthe following projects:202219832014 Tissue Culture Laboratory equipment .

mm20221984 2014 Children’s Education Program «H!H

Protective sleeves for photographs in theHorticulture Library -mmmm

Purchase of 20x40’ tent for the Case ,J«i|Estates I^H

Computer software. l^^^flNSF grantproposal costs. l^^^l

20221985 2014 Computer for the Dana Greenhouse. ‘g

’

Conversion of E. H. Wilson’s glass platenegatives to safety film. |HflB|

Supplies for the Children’s Education tflHHProgram.

‘

Collection of Chinese specimens for .a2014 mi

Herbarium. HfllPurchase and instillation of computer J^^^lsoftware for Education Program l^^^l

Purchase of Chinese books for Library |^^HSignage for Sargent Trail li^^lConversion of herbaria drier to l^^^l

year-round use aH(Continued on Page 4)

"Reflected Spring" Art Competi-tion Brings More Than 200 Worksof Art to Arboretum

From more than 200 submissions to the

spring 1989 competition for the gallery show,"Reflected Spring", 25 works of art celebrat-ing the beauty of lilacs were selected by jury.One artwork was selected for reproductionon the 1989 lilac poster and the jury’s selectionwas a gouache by Ellen Tikkanen of Cambr-idge. Her painting captures the arboretums’own lilac collection. Ms. Tikkanen grew up in

Jamaica Plain, not far from the arboretum’sBussey Hill from which her work of art viewsthe lilac collection, and she remembers thethrill of attending Lilac Sunday as a little girl.Now a free-lance designer, she attended MassCollege of Art and has spent many of herpainting hours in the arboretum. The 1989poster is on sale in the Shop at the Arboretumfor $14.

~: 1 IY4P· i i t t r .~,i P 1%~tl t . ,’slu; ~ rn ·

Winner of The Lilac Art Poster mmTikkanen, Ellen. Bussey Hill. Cambridge fHmWorks for the Show ~~Abbott, Jeannie, Lilac Breeze. Brookline

"~

Barbier, Suzette, Still-life.. CambridgeCiaffaroni, Sara, Lilac. BostonClave, Linda, Nostalgia. BostonClodgo, Christopher, Untitled. Everett jjUfflB;Cohen, Marjorie, Harkness Lilacs. Leverett

Comolli, Anna, Syrxnga Prestonia. Milford

E Francis, Christine, Le Printemps. Quincyp Griswold, Joan, Summer Hat. Wellesley

Hoey, Julie, May Flowers. Arlington

Hogan, Anna, Boquet. Lawrence

I K.-Pastuchiv, Olga, Lilacs. Somerville

~ Kauffmann, Robyn Lilac Arch. Milton~t Levin, Phyllis, A Lilac Hedge Surrounded the Property.. Levine, Phyllis, Ambition Drove Her Through Some~ Funny Territory. Duxbury

iviCuOVvcn, iBuill, ijtuiC jiinuuw. vvinCliOSitil

» Patrick, Cyndy, (untitkd). Everett

~ Rebek, Thomas, Lilac Walkway. Boston

Regan, JoAnne, Lilac Window. CantonRabiner, Carolyn, (untitled). Newton

I Slade, Phila, Breath of Spring III. North Andover1. Spaulding, Dorothy, (untitled). BostonB Visvis, Elizabeth, Bowl of Lilacs. Wellesley Hills

~ Wirth, Helena, Lilacs. Sherbom

I Wong, Janine, Midnight Lilacs. Cambridge II

3

Now that we’re blooming, a look back at some of thepeople who make Spring happen ....Since the arboretum is over 100 years old, weare in process of re-invigorating a mature col-lection of woody plants. Work constantlygoes on to repropagate and renew the collec-tion even though trees may not be in anydanger. It can take a long time for new plantsto grow mature enough to be planted on thegrounds.

Because the arboretum is a scientificcollection, the focus is to conserve the collec-tions by replacing individual plants withexact genetic duplicates. Thus, plants arepropagated vegetatively; in other words,"cloned." Jack Alexander (picture), thearboretum’s chief propagator says, "Cloning ]im Nkkersonhas been going on for thousands of yearsusing one of several tech-niques that take a vegeta-tive part of the plant andput roots on it. Plants arebegun using cuttings,grafting, division (forshrubs), and sometimes,tissue culture.

New plants are alsointroduced and this workof the arboretum beginswhen botanists on staffset out on plant collectionexpeditions. RobNicholson (picture), apropagation specialist, , , , ,

went to Mexico to search ’** Alexander

for rare conifers that may be hardy in Boston.

Mark Watkama

_ ~_

Rob Nicholson .. _ _..

He also collected seeds for the Center of Plant

Conservation, an organization that coordi-nates the collection of rare and endangeredU.S. flora.

The arboretum’s staff is constantly evalu-ating and replacing the plants. Gary Koller,chief horticulturist, and Patrick Willoughby,head of the grounds crew, are always as arethe members of the grounds crew planningahead - planting and caring for the 14,000woody plants growing on the arboretum’s265 acres, and, at the same time, managingfor the 21st century.

Microwave oven for Jamaica PlainVolunteer ProgramChairs for Case Estates

202219862014 Signage for Sargent TrailMatching grant for Herbarium cases’

purchaseIBM printer for Education ProgramEquipment for Children’s ProgramRare books for LibraryDocumentation of slides in Horticultural

LibraryFans for Dana GreenhouseVolunteer guide books and vestsSlide projector and loudspeaker systemBooks for the Arnold Arboretum JournalData input for Living CollectionsTypewriter for Business OfficeInteractive exhibit for Education

DepartmentAlarm system for Bonsai HouseLibrary addition to catalog of the

collections

20221987 2014 Computerization of the plant mappingsystem

Restoration of the Bonsai HouseFans for the Dana Greenhouse

Volunteers

(Continued from page 1)

germination," but he’s also worked with therecords to support Jack Alexander’s programin hybridization.

Les, who has been an English teacher"everywhere", is a Harvard Ph.D. eventhough he hadn’t planned on going tocollege, much less on even finishing highschool. As the eldest male child, he had towork to help support his siblings. Having justone year of high school, he got himself a kitof tools and began repairing typewriters. Buthe was able to go to night school and wasencouraged by a young woman teacher thatthere was more to life than repairing type-writers. With her support, he convinced theOregon Agricultural College to enroll himeven without a high school diploma and thenwent on to finish at Oregon State, where hegot his feet wet teaching freshman English.After graduate work at Syracuse, he taughtEnglish and history at the Naval Academy.From there he went to the Colorado School ofMines where he wrote a text book on techni-cal exposition. After receiving his Ph.D. from

Harvard, he was fortunate to become anassistant in the Houghton Library where hehelped to build their collection of rare books.After another stint teaching in the west atWashington State College in Pullman, WA,he returned to Cambridge and to Lelsey Col-lege where for 18 years he taught English.His favorite subjects? Shakespeare, the ro-mantic poets, and the psychological novel.He retired in 1972 to begin a second career asan arboretum volunteer.

He did not, however, come to the arbo-retum because he was a successful gardenerwith an extra green thumb. On the contraryLes said his house in Melrose sits on filledland without any soil good enough forplanting. He came because of his first intro-duction to the arboretum when he lived in Ja-maica Plain and would walk here, using hesaid, " my eyes." Perhaps that’s when hespotted the trees that have continued to behis center of interest, the Dawn Redwood andthe Sourwood.

I said it was interesting to learn hearhow people were attracted to volunteering atthe arboretum and asked Lizanne Chapin,another volunteer, who was now sittingacross the table in the greenhouse, workingon her own project, how she’d come tovolunteer.

She explained she’d majored in land-scape architecture at Smith and worked intheir greenhouse. She comes from a longline of gardeners, has a wild flower garden inCambridge, and helped design the DukesCounty Historical Society’s display herbgarden. She had always wished she couldwork in the Arnold’s greenhouse but itwasn’t until she met the newly-arrivedAshtons at aWild Flower Annual Meeting,that her wish came true.

Ever since she’s been the jack-of-all-trades at the greenhouse- from collectingseedlings to press for the herbarium to wash-ing pots to potting up rare plants for the fallauction.

Her favorite arboretum tree is the mag-nolia stellata, which she says is a favorite ofhers in the winter, too, because of its pretty,soft green buds.

Les and Lizanne invited me to help washpots, but I said I’d come back another timeand left them busily at their work.

- Jo Procter