Lewis W. Barton Arboretum
Encyclopedia
The Barton Arboretum & Nature Preserve http://medfordleas.org/arboretum.htm is a 168 acre (0.67987248 km²) arboretum
and nature preserve located in Medford Township. The arboretum is situated on the grounds of Medford Leas http://medfordleas.org, a not-for-profit, Quaker-related community for adults age 55 and older.
The arboretum is on the edge of the Pine Barrens
, and includes landscaped grounds, courtyard garden
s, wildflower
meadow
s, natural woodland
s and wetland
s, as well as tree collections. It was created with the assistance of the Morris Arboretum
of the University of Pennsylvania
. The Morris Arboretum continues to provide technical support.
Attractions include the Pinetum an international collection of exotic pines, a conifer collection, a 0.5 acres (2,023.4 m²) rhododendron
woodland, holly
, viburnum
, and crabapple
collections, and an experimental planting of chestnut
trees being grown in cooperation with The American Chestnut Foundation
. The arboretum also once had the New Jersey State Champion Carya cordiformis tree, but it was struck by lightning in the fall of 1997 destroying it. The fallen tree and stump still remains in place however.
The Arboretum is a member of Greater Philadelphia Gardenshttp://www.greaterphiladelphiagardens.org as well as the American Association of Public Gardens http://www.apga.org and is open to the public seven days a week from dawn till dusk, free of charge.
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
and nature preserve located in Medford Township. The arboretum is situated on the grounds of Medford Leas http://medfordleas.org, a not-for-profit, Quaker-related community for adults age 55 and older.
The arboretum is on the edge of the Pine Barrens
Pine Barrens (New Jersey)
The Pine Barrens, also known as the Pinelands, is a heavily forested area of coastal plain stretching across southern New Jersey. The name "pine barrens" refers to the area's sandy, acidic, nutrient-poor soil, to which the crops originally imported by European settlers didn't take well...
, and includes landscaped grounds, courtyard garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
s, wildflower
Wildflower
A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...
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...
s, natural 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...
s 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....
s, as well as tree collections. It was created with the assistance of the Morris Arboretum
Morris Arboretum
The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania is the official arboretum of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located at 100 East Northwestern Avenue, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
. The Morris Arboretum continues to provide technical support.
Attractions include the Pinetum an international collection of exotic pines, a conifer collection, a 0.5 acres (2,023.4 m²) rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
woodland, holly
Holly
Ilex) is a genus of 400 to 600 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. The species are evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones world wide....
, viburnum
Viburnum
Viburnum is a genus of about 150–175 species of shrubs or small trees in the moschatel family, Adoxaceae. Its current classification is based on molecular phylogeny...
, and crabapple
Crabapple
Crabapple is a term used for several species of Malus in the family Rosaceae, which are characterized by small sour fruit resembling familiar table apples . They are usually small trees or shrubs....
collections, and an experimental planting of chestnut
Chestnut
Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
trees being grown in cooperation with The American Chestnut Foundation
The American Chestnut Foundation
The American Chestnut Foundation is a nonprofit American organization dedicated to breeding a blight-resistant American chestnut tree and the reintroduction of this tree to the forests of the Eastern United States....
. The arboretum also once had the New Jersey State Champion Carya cordiformis tree, but it was struck by lightning in the fall of 1997 destroying it. The fallen tree and stump still remains in place however.
The Arboretum is a member of Greater Philadelphia Gardenshttp://www.greaterphiladelphiagardens.org as well as the American Association of Public Gardens http://www.apga.org and is open to the public seven days a week from dawn till dusk, free of charge.