UC Santa Cruz Arboretum Collections

UC Santa Cruz Arboretum Collections
The Arboretum's focus on drought-tolerant plants from Mediterranean
climates includes plants from California, South Africa, portions of
Australia, and to a lesser degree, plants from Chile and the Mediterranean
itself. The Arboretum's southern hemishere collections from Australia,
South Africa, New Zealand, New Caledonia, and Chile are tied together
biogeographically as remnants of the former continent Gondwana Cacti
and succulents are selected from California, Mexico, Chile, and South
Africa As part of our mission to promote "innovative horticulture" many
new plants are chosen as potential garden plants for the central California
coast.
The Proteaceae is widely represented in the South African and Australian
gardens. Significant collections of primitive flowering plants and conifer
genera found throughout the world have been assembled by staff. The
aroma garden provides cutting stock and a showy display near the gift
shop. Our goals for the rare fruits, stone plants, and carnivorous plants are
primarily to provide educational examples and to involve volunteer
groups.
We strive to maintain and enrich our collections.
Australian Collection
The Australian collection covers 10-20 acres and consists of the the
Elvenia J. Slosson Gardens, the Banksia Field, and the Eucalyptus Grove.
This is the largest collection of Australian plants outside of Australia. This
collection, the largest in the Arboretum, is the source of our greatest
number of new horticultural introductions and the recipient of many large
grants (e.g. from the Packard, Wallis, and Christiansen Foundations; IMS;
and the Slosson Fund). In addition to plants of horticultural interest there
are primitive flowering plants used in research into the origins and early
development of flowering plants.
We work to obtain a diverse group of plant families with horticultural
potential. Most are drought-tolerant and from Mediterranean or similar
climate areas of Australia The more tropical species, collected for their
botanical interest, are planted in the slightly warmer Upper Arboretum
or are housed in greenhouses. We have collected more from the protea,
legume, myrtle (Eucalyptus),and citrus families than from any other
groups. There are more than 150 different Grevillea cultivars and species.
Some of the plant families are rarely, if ever, found in other gardens in
North America (see appendix for list of families).
The New Zealand Collection
The Edward D. Landel's New Zealand Garden may well contain the
largest collection of New Zealand plants outside of New Zealand. The
collection contains many fine ornamental species and cultivars. In
addition, the collection contains many strikingyly curious specimens
which serve well to illustrate lectures on earth history and diverse
botanical and ecological phenomenon.
South African Collection
The several collections of South African plants are distributed in the Dean
and Jane McHenry garden, Erica Garden, South African Garden, and are
also present as potted plants in our growing areas. It includes members of
the Proteaceae, flowering monocots, Restionaceae, Ericaceae, succulents,
Asteraceae, and other fynbos vegetation.
A large number of Erica are endemic to South Africa. Our collection is
especially well endowed with representatives from the Cape Province.
Many of these plants are valuable as landscape perennials, and some are
useful in the cut flower trade. Formerly confined to the erica beds, they
are now being planted in with the other members of the "fynbos"
community in the general South African collection.
A large number of South African bulbous species are grown here,
especially from the Iris and Lily families. Most typical of the Cape flora.
Our collection was formerly limited to one small bed (MJ)and our "bulb
cages". The past few years have seen the spread of the plants into the
fynbos community at large in our South Africa area Recent bequests and
donationsare bringing our collection many rare and choice species.
Members of the Proteaceae are the most conspicuous and widely-know
plants in our South Afi-icangardens. Three genera, Protea, ~eucos~ermum,
and Leucadendron are especialy well represented here, The Protea are of
value especially to the cut flower trade, while Leucospermum, and more
particularly Leucadendron, are good landscape plants in our climate, as
well as being useful to the florist industry.
Cactus and Succulent collections
Include plants with uses for teaching, botanical research by staff and
others, horticultural research, and cutting stock for plant sales. They
include the largest collection of Dudleya; other New World Crassulaceae
(Sedum, Echeveria, Pachyphytum); Chilean cacti; South African Aloe,
Euphorbia, and Sarcocaulon; a few Australian and New Zealand
succulents; and the Baja California Garden (planted in honor of Millie
Zink). Donors include cactus and succulent societies, Victor and Carla
Reiter, Naomi Bloss, Jack Napton, and Bob and Margaret Grim. Several
thousand plants are in three greenhouses and planted in gardens. Future
acquisitions will include those areas mentioned above and showy, coldhardy cacti and succulents suitable for outdoor gardening in Santa Cruz.
Future acquisitions will in some cases replace existine ~lantswith plants
that have field data.
Chilean collection (South American Garden)
Mediterranean climate areas of Chile and similar drought-tolerant areas of
adjacent Argentina. Plants from outside these areas of South America
would mainly be those that fit in with other important parts of the
collection, such as the conifer collection, primitive flowering plants, or
examples of Gondwana connections (e.g. Fuchsias in South America and
New Zealand). Potted plants include conifers, primitive flowering plants,
and cold-hardy cacti.
Laurasian Forest
Trees and shrubs of northern hemisphere formerly part of of Laurasia,
include eastern U.S., Europe and S.E. Asia. This small collection in the
riparian areas of the Arboretum contains several magnolias. The
Laurasian forest also has California native remnants of wetter times, such
as willows, cottonwoods, alders, witch hazels, and sycamores that are
found naturally occurring in riparian areas on the site, on campus, or
nearby.