Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens
Encyclopedia
Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens (over 250 acres) are county botanical gardens with an arboretum
and natural areas located at 2306 Aldine Westfield Road in unincorporated
Harris County, Texas
, United States
. They are open daily with free admission.
The gardens are named after Thelma and Charles Mercer, who purchased 14.5 acres (58,679.5 m²) in the late 1940s for their home and garden. They preserved native trees such as dogwood
s, rusty blackhaw viburnum
, and hawthorn
s, and introduced camellia
s and exotic tree species such as ginkgo, bauhinia
, philadelphus, camphor
, and tung oil
. The property was purchased by Harris County in 1974, with major expansions of 200 acre (0.809372 km²) in 1984, and a further 38 acres (153,780.7 m²) in 1993.
Today's gardens include Azalea
Berms, Bald Cypress Pond, Bamboo
Garden (with more than 30 species of spreading and clump-forming bamboo), Daylily
Garden, Endangered Species Garden, Fern
Garden, Ginger
Garden, Hawthorn
Loop, Herb
Garden, Hickory
Bog, Iris
Garden, Lily Pond, Maple
Collection, Post Oak
Uplands, Prehistoric Garden, Rock Garden, Salvia
Collection, Shade Bog Garden and Boardwalk, Tropical Garden, Vine
Garden, and a Woodland Pond and Bridge, as well as picnic tables and more than 3 miles (4.8 km) of walking paths.
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 natural areas located at 2306 Aldine Westfield Road in unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
Harris County, Texas
Harris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. They are open daily with free admission.
The gardens are named after Thelma and Charles Mercer, who purchased 14.5 acres (58,679.5 m²) in the late 1940s for their home and garden. They preserved native trees such as dogwood
Dogwood
The genus Cornus is a group of about 30-60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods. Most dogwoods are deciduous trees or shrubs, but a few species are nearly herbaceous perennial subshrubs, and a few of the woody species are evergreen...
s, rusty blackhaw 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 hawthorn
Crataegus
Crataegus , commonly called hawthorn or thornapple, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the rose family, Rosaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia and North America. The name hawthorn was originally applied to the species native to northern Europe,...
s, and introduced camellia
Camellia
Camellia, the camellias, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalaya east to Korea and Indonesia. There are 100–250 described species, with some controversy over the exact number...
s and exotic tree species such as ginkgo, bauhinia
Bauhinia
Bauhinia is a genus of more than 200 species of flowering plants in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae of the large flowering plant family Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution. The genus was named after the Bauhin brothers, Swiss-French botanists....
, philadelphus, camphor
Camphor
Camphor is a waxy, white or transparent solid with a strong, aromatic odor. It is a terpenoid with the chemical formula C10H16O. It is found in wood of the camphor laurel , a large evergreen tree found in Asia and also of Dryobalanops aromatica, a giant of the Bornean forests...
, and tung oil
Tung oil
Tung oil or China wood oil is a drying oil obtained by pressing the seed from the nut of the tung tree . As a drying oil, tung oil hardens upon exposure to air. The resulting coating is transparent plastic-like and is exploited in most of its applications, which include wood finishing and the...
. The property was purchased by Harris County in 1974, with major expansions of 200 acre (0.809372 km²) in 1984, and a further 38 acres (153,780.7 m²) in 1993.
Today's gardens include Azalea
Azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...
Berms, Bald Cypress Pond, Bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
Garden (with more than 30 species of spreading and clump-forming bamboo), Daylily
Daylily
Daylily is the general nonscientific name of a species, hybrid or cultivar of the genus Hemerocallis . Daylily cultivar flowers are highly diverse in colour and form, as a result of hybridization efforts of gardening enthusiasts and professional horticulturalists...
Garden, Endangered Species Garden, Fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
Garden, Ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
Garden, Hawthorn
Crataegus
Crataegus , commonly called hawthorn or thornapple, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the rose family, Rosaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia and North America. The name hawthorn was originally applied to the species native to northern Europe,...
Loop, Herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
Garden, Hickory
Hickory
Trees in the genus Carya are commonly known as hickory, derived from the Powhatan language of Virginia. The genus includes 17–19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and big nuts...
Bog, Iris
Iris (plant)
Iris is a genus of 260-300species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species...
Garden, Lily Pond, Maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
Collection, Post Oak
Post oak
Quercus stellata is an oak in the white oak group. It is a small tree, typically 10–15 m tall and 30–60 cm trunk diameter, though occasional specimens reach 30 m tall and 140 cm diameter. It is native to the eastern United States, from Connecticut in the northeast, west to southern Iowa, southwest...
Uplands, Prehistoric Garden, Rock Garden, Salvia
Salvia
Salvia is the largest genus of plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, with approximately 700-900 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals. It is one of several genera commonly referred to as sage. When used without modifiers, sage generally refers to Salvia officinalis ; however, it is...
Collection, Shade Bog Garden and Boardwalk, Tropical Garden, Vine
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
Garden, and a Woodland Pond and Bridge, as well as picnic tables and more than 3 miles (4.8 km) of walking paths.