Awbury Arboretum (55 acres) is a nonprofit

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

and estate located at 1 Awbury Road in

Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Germantown ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Deitscheschteddel'') is an area in Northwest Philadelphia. Founded by German, Quaker, and Mennonite families in 1683 as an independent borough, it was absorbed into Philadelphia in 1854. The area, which is ab ...

. Its grounds are open daily without charge. Established in 1916, it then became a nonprofit organization in 1984.

History

The arboretum dates back to 1852, when Henry Cope purchased the property. The grounds were laid out in the English landscape tradition, with advice from noted landscape architect William Saunders. A number of houses were constructed on the property; all are now privately owned with the exception of the Francis Cope House (1860) which is now the Arboretum headquarters. The Cope family formally established the arboretum in 1916; it became a nonprofit organization in 1984. The arboretum lies entirely within the Awbury Historic District, a National Historic District designated in 2001.

Trees

The arboretum is laid out as a series of open spaces, with clusters of trees and shrubs framing long vistas. Among its many mature trees, the arboretum contains a State Champion River Birch (''

Betula nigra ''Betula nigra'', the black birch, river birch or water birch, is a species of birch native to the Eastern United States from New Hampshire west to southern Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and west to Texas. It is one of the few heat-tol ...

''), and notable specimens of American Linden (''

Tilia americana ''Tilia americana'' is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Oklahoma, southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to ...

''), American Sycamore (''

Platanus occidentalis ''Platanus occidentalis'', also known as American sycamore, American planetree, western plane, occidental plane, buttonwood, and water beech, is a species of ''Platanus'' native to the eastern and central United States, the mountains of northeas ...

''), and Paper Birch (''

Betula papyrifera ''Betula papyrifera'' (paper birch, also known as (American) white birch and canoe birch) is a short-lived species of birch native to northern North America. Paper birch is named for the tree's thin white bark, which often peels in paper like ...

''). Other trees in the collection include ''

Acer rubrum ''Acer rubrum'', the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant nati ...

'', ''

Amelanchier canadensis ''Amelanchier canadensis'' (bilberry,Canadian Wildlife Federation/ref> Canadian serviceberry, chuckle-berry, currant-tree, juneberry, shad-blow serviceberry, shad-blow, shadbush, shadbush serviceberry, sugarplum, thicket serviceberry) is a specie ...

'', ''

Carpinus caroliniana ''Carpinus caroliniana'', the American hornbeam, is a small hardwood tree in the genus ''Carpinus''. American hornbeam is also known as blue-beech, ironwood, musclewood and muscle beech. It is native to eastern North America, from Minnesota and ...

'', ''

Chionanthus virginicus ''Chionanthus virginicus'' (white fringetree) is a tree native to the savannas and lowlands of the southeastern United States, from New Jersey south to Florida, and west to Oklahoma and Texas.USDA Woody Plant Seed Manual''Chionanthus virginicus' ...

'', ''

Cornus alternifolia ''Cornus alternifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the dogwood family Cornaceae, native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland west to southern Manitoba and Minnesota, and south to northern Florida and Mississippi. It is rare in the ...

'', ''

Cornus amomum ''Cornus amomum'', the silky dogwood, is a species of dogwood native to the eastern United States, from Michigan and Vermont south to Alabama and Florida. Other names include red willow, silky cornel, kinnikinnick, and squawbush. Description ' ...

'', ''

Cornus florida ''Cornus florida'', the flowering dogwood, is a species of flowering tree in the family Cornaceae native to eastern North America and northern Mexico. An endemic population once spanned from southernmost coastal Maine south to northern Florida ...

'', ''

Corylus americana ''Corylus americana'', the American hazelnut or American hazel, is a species of deciduous shrub in the genus ''Corylus'', native to the eastern and central United States and extreme southern parts of eastern and central Canada. Description The A ...

'', ''

Fraxinus americana ''Fraxinus americana'', the white ash or American ash, is a species of '' ash tree'' native to eastern and central North America. The species is native to mesophytic hardwood forests from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, south to northern Florida ...

'', ''

Fraxinus pennsylvanica ''Fraxinus pennsylvanica'', the green ash or red ash, is a species of ash native to eastern and central North America, from Nova Scotia west to southeastern Alberta and eastern Colorado, south to northern Florida, and southwest to Oklahoma and e ...

'', ''

Liriodendron tulipifera ''Liriodendron tulipifera''—known as the tulip tree, American tulip tree, tulipwood, tuliptree, tulip poplar, whitewood, fiddletree, and yellow-poplar—is the North American representative of the two-species genus ''Liriodendron'' (the other ...

'', ''

Nyssa sylvatica ''Nyssa sylvatica'', commonly known as tupelo, black tupelo, black gum or sour gum, is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to eastern North America from the coastal Northeastern United States and southern Ontario south to central Florida and e ...

'', ''

Prunus serotina ''Prunus serotina'', commonly called black cherry,World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous tree or shrub of the g ...

'', ''

Quercus alba An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...

'', ''

Quercus palustris ''Quercus palustris'', the pin oak or swamp Spanish oak, is a tree in the red oak section (''Quercus'' sect. ''Lobatae'') of the genus ''Quercus''. Pin oak is one of the most commonly used landscaping oaks in its native range due to its ease of ...

'', ''

Quercus prinus ''Quercus montana'', the chestnut oak, is a species of oak in the white oak group, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus''. It is native to the eastern United States, where it is one of the most important ridgetop trees from southern Maine southwest to ...

'', and ''

Quercus rubra ''Quercus rubra'', the northern red oak, is an oak tree in the red oak group (''Quercus'' section ''Lobatae''). It is a native of North America, in the eastern and central United States and southeast and south-central Canada. It has been introdu ...

''. Shrubs include ''

Aronia arbutifolia ''Aronia arbutifolia'', called the red chokeberry, is a North American species of shrubs in the rose family. It is native to eastern Canada and to the eastern and central United States, from eastern Texas to Nova Scotia inland to Ontario, Ohio, Ke ...

'', ''

Aronia melanocarpa ''Aronia melanocarpa'', called the black chokeberry, is a species of shrubs in the rose family native to eastern North America, ranging from Canada to the central United States, from Newfoundland west to Ontario and Minnesota, south as far as ...

'', ''

Lindera benzoin ''Lindera benzoin'' (commonly called spicebush, common spicebush, northern spicebush, wild allspice, or Benjamin bush) is a shrub in the Lauraceae, laurel family, native to Eastern United States, eastern North America, ranging from Maine and New ...

'', ''

Viburnum dentatum ''Viburnum dentatum'', southern arrowwood or arrowwood viburnum or roughish arrowwood, is a small shrub, native to the eastern United States and Canada from Maine south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Like most '' Viburnum'', it has oppos ...

'', and ''

Viburnum prunifolium ''Viburnum prunifolium'' (known as blackhaw or black haw, blackhaw viburnum, sweet haw, and stag bush) is a species of ''Viburnum'' native to eastern North America, from Connecticut west to eastern Kansas, and south to Alabama and Texas. Growth ...

''.

External links

Awbury Arboretum

Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area: Awbury Arboretum
Arboreta in Pennsylvania Botanical gardens in Pennsylvania Parks in Philadelphia Germantown, Philadelphia

History

Trees

See also

External links