Give Now | Annual Fund Give Now | Annual Fund Image Thank you for contributing to the Morris Arboretum Annual Fund. If you wish to send a check , it can be mailed to: Morris Arboretum Annual Fund 100 East Northwestern Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19118 To give a gift by phone,  please call 215.247.5777 x205 Monday through Friday 9 am - 5 pm, To make your gift online , please click here .  … Give Now | Annual Fund …

Botanical Research Botanical Research Image Botanical Research  General Information  Since its inception as a public garden, the Morris Arboretum has served as a center for botanical research. Research staff at the arboretum study the evolution, phylogenetics, systematics/taxonomy, anatomy and morphology of plants. The Morris Arboretum also has a long-standing research program in floristics, or the study of what plants grow in a certain place in a particular time frame, with a major focus on the flora of Pennsylvania (please see below for details). We are currently fundraising to better equip our laboratory with a suite of molecular biology and anatomy/histology tools and equipment, to allow us to grow our research program even further. Please contact us at  botany@morrisarboretum.org  with any questions about our research program or if you are interested in becoming a volunteer or donor to help further our pursuits!  Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis Project;  Achieving a greater scientific understanding of our urban areas, one plant specimen at a time  In light of the increasingly urban future of our planet, a thorough understanding of the biological processes at work in urban areas is necessary for the continued survival of Earth's inhabitants, including humans. The first step in that understanding is to know what thrives, survives, or perishes in cities, now and in the past. The Mid-Atlantic Megalopolis (MAM) Project begins this study by looking at vascular plants, with the digitization of roughly 700,000 herbarium specimens from eleven institutions in the urban corridor from New York City to Washington, D.C. As the largest, oldest, and most populated urban corridor in the U.S., this area and its flora present a unique opportunity for the study of urbanization, particularly given its rich herbarium collections, containing specimens collected over the last 400 years. The data mobilized in this effort will help us achieve a better scientific understanding of living urban …

Tours for Kids Tours for Kids Image Coming soon! … Tours for Kids …

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Directions & Parking Directions & Parking Image The Morris Arboretum has ample free parking. Accessible parking is available in the parking lot just beyond the Widener Visitor Center. In the event that the lot is full, we offer overflow parking near the entrance kiosk. Location  100 E Northwestern Avenue  Philadelphia, PA 19118  View directions on Google Maps .   Image View a larger version of the map here. … Directions & Parking …

Plant Names and Provenance: Dawn-redwood Metasequoia glyptostroboides  (dawn-redwood) is a deciduous conifer from Central China that is often referred to as a “living fossil,” and the Morris Arboretum currently cultivates forty-eight of these majestic trees. Image 1948-045-A.  Metasequoia glyptostroboides . This tree was grown from the original set of seeds sent from China to the Arnold Arboretum in 1948 and then shared with many institutions, including the Morris Arboretum. Metasequoia glyptostroboides  (dawn-redwood) is a deciduous conifer from Central China that is often referred to as a “living fossil,” and the Morris Arboretum currently cultivates forty-eight of these majestic trees. The common name, dawn-redwood, was coined to evoke the concept that this tree is as ancient as the dawn of time. In 1941, a Japanese paleobotanist, Shigeru Miki, described a fossil-based plant genus that he named  Metasequoia , meaning “akin to  Sequoia .” [ Sequoia sempervirens  (California redwood) is the only living species of  Sequoia .] Fossil evidence indicated that  Metasequoia  spp. were once abundant in both North America and Asia, seemingly becoming extinct about two to five million years ago. What a surprise, then, when a live tree was discovered in Central China and formally published as  Metasequoia glyptostroboides  in 1948 by Chinese scientists Hu and Cheng. The specific epithet  glyptostroboides , meaning “resembling  Glyptostrobus ,” was chosen because the live tree was initially misidentified as  Glyptostrobus pensilis  (Chinese swamp cypress). In 1947, the Arnold Arboretum sent $250 to Cheng in support of seed collection. This was the primary funding source for C.T. Hwa, a graduate student of Cheng’s who made the arduous journey to collect several pounds of seeds—not only from the original and single  M. glyptostroboides , but also from a nearby seed stand that he discovered. The five dawn-redwoods in the Morris Arboretum with accession numbers starting with …

What's in Bloom: November As we all prepare for colder months, many of our plants are doing the same: dropping their leaves, slowing glucose production, and storing excess food in their root systems. Some plants in our gardens are still displaying vibrant fall color, and others have even begun to bloom. I hope you enjoy stumbling upon these plants at the Arboretum and discovering new ones along the way. As we all prepare for colder months, many of our plants are doing the same: dropping their leaves, slowing glucose production, and storing excess food in their root systems. Some plants in our gardens are still displaying vibrant fall color, and others have even begun to bloom. I hope you enjoy stumbling upon these plants at the Arboretum and discovering new ones along the way. Image False holly Osmanthus heterophyllus Native to Japan and Taiwan, this large evergreen shrub has now opened its tiny white flowers that emit an inviting fragrance right outside the Widener Visitor Center and in other areas of the Arboretum.  Osmanthus  can be distinguished from true hollies by their opposite leaf arrangement, while true holly,  Ilex , have leaves that are alternately arranged. Clusters of these small, tubular flowers form in leaf axes, where the leaf meets the twig. Take note of the different leaf shapes that occur on the same shrub. Younger leaves have sharp spines along the leaf margin, but as the leaves mature they become spineless and smooth. Image Stiff dogwood Cornus foemina Near the bridge by the Swan Pond are several of these dogwoods that are now bearing their distinctive, showy blue fruit. Ranging from a light to dark blue, the fruit grow in clusters on bright red stems that really stand out against the foliage. Although these fruits look like berries, they are in fact drupes, with one hard seed rather than many seeds within a fleshy fruit—think of this dogwood’s fruit as more akin to a cherry or an apricot rather than a blueberry. Image American witchhazel …