Highstead Arboretum
Encyclopedia
The Highstead Arboretum in Redding, Connecticut
, USA
was founded in 1982. It covers 36 acres (146,000 m²) of woodland
, meadow
, and wetland
and ranges from 640 feet (195.1 m) to 758 feet (231 m) in elevation. It hosts both native and cultivated plant varieties. Highstead may be visited by appointment.
Highstead includes the following collections:
Redding, Connecticut
Mark Twain, a resident of the town in his old age, contributed the first books for a public library which was eventually named after him.-Government:...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was founded in 1982. It covers 36 acres (146,000 m²) of woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
, meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
, and wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
and ranges from 640 feet (195.1 m) to 758 feet (231 m) in elevation. It hosts both native and cultivated plant varieties. Highstead may be visited by appointment.
Highstead includes the following collections:
- The Native tree and shrub collection, with indigenous plants from within a 100 miles (160.9 km) radius of the arboretum.
- The Mountain Laurel collection, including 3 of the 7 laurel species. Highstead strives to have a thorough collection of cultivars of Kalmia latifoliaKalmia latifoliaKalmia latifolia, commonly called Mountain-laurel or Spoonwood, is a species of flowering plant in the blueberry family, Ericaceae, that is native to the eastern United States. Its range stretches from southern Maine south to northern Florida, and west to Indiana and Louisiana. Mountain-laurel is...
, the Connecticut state flower, and a representative collection of the genus, for which it is also the International Cultivar Registration Authority. - The DeciduousDeciduousDeciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
Azaleas collection, with 14 species of deciduous azaleas (3 native). - A HerbariumHerbariumIn botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
with more than 1,000 specimens.
See also
- List of botanical gardens in the United States
- North American Plant Collections ConsortiumNorth American Plant Collections ConsortiumThe North American Plant Collections Consortium is a group of North American botanical gardens and arboreta that aims to improve the continent's living plant collections, and enhance the availability of plant germplasm...