The JC Raulston Arboretum is a

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

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

administered by

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

, and located in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

. It is open daily to the public without charge.

History

The Arboretum was established in 1976 by horticulturist Dr. James Chester Raulston, and after Dr. Raulston's death in 1996, the Arboretum was re-named in his honor.

Plant collections

The arboretum has a collection of plants from over 50 countries. Its plant collections now include over 6,000 total taxa of annuals, perennials, bulbs, vines, ground covers, shrubs, and trees, with significant collections of: *'' Acer'' (maple) *'' Aesculus'' (buckeye) *'' Berberis'' (barberry) *'' Buxus'' (boxwood) *'' Cercis'' (redbud) *

Conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

s *''

Ilex ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The speci ...

'' (holly) *''

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

'' (magnolia) *''

Mahonia ''Mahonia'' is a genus of approximately 70 species of evergreen shrubs and, rarely, small trees in the family Berberidaceae, native to eastern Asia, the Himalaya, North and Central America. They are closely related to the genus ''Berberis'' and ...

'' (grapeholly) *'' Nandina'' (heavenly bamboo) *''

Quercus 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 '' ...

'' (oak) *

Styracaceae The Styracaceae are a small family of flowering plants in the order Ericales, containing 12 genera and about 160 species of trees and shrubs. The family occurs in warm temperate and subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The family is c ...

(silverbell family) *''

Viburnum ''Viburnum'' is a genus of about 150–175 species of flowering plants in the moschatel family Adoxaceae. Its current classification is based on molecular phylogeny. It was previously included in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. The membe ...

'' *'' Wisteria''

The major gardens

* Annual Color Trials — an official All-America Selections (AAS) testing site, evaluating over 700 different annuals and tender perennials each year. * Entry Garden — more than 100 types of tender perennials, mostly tropical. * Finley-Nottingham Rose Garden — over 200

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

s representing over 120 taxa, including hybrid teas, hybrid musk roses, David Austin roses, and climbing roses. * Japanese Garden —

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese plants with a raked-stone Zen garden; plants include '' Acer palmatum'' ‘Kiyohime’, '' Acer palmatum'' ‘Seiryu’, ''

Chamaecyparis ''Chamaecyparis'', common names cypress or false cypress (to distinguish it from related cypresses), is a genus of conifers in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to eastern Asia (Japan and Taiwan) and to the western and eastern margins of th ...

obtusa'' ‘Nana Gracilis’, ''

Lagerstroemia ''Lagerstroemia'' (), commonly known as crape myrtle (also spelled crepe myrtle or crêpe myrtle), is a genus of around 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Australia ...

fauriei'', '' Nandina domestica'' f. ''capillaris'' cultivars, and '' Pinus taeda'' ‘Nana’. * Klein-Pringle White Garden — white-flowered plants and plants with gray, white, or silver foliage, inspired by the famous White Garden at Sissinghurst Castle Garden; plants include '' Acer palmatum'', ''

'' ‘Natchez’, ''

'' × ''loebneri'' ‘Merrill’, '' Styrax japonicus'' ‘Emerald Pagoda’, and ''

'' ‘Mohawk’. * Lath House — over 700 kinds of shade-loving plants, including '' Acanthus spinosus'', '' Cornus controversa'' 'Variegata', ''

Farfugium ''Farfugium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Asteraceae, native plant, native to streams and seashores in east Asia. They are rhizomatous evergreen perennial plant, perennials with rounded leathery leaves and brig ...

japonicum'' 'Aureomaculatum', ''

Gentiana ''Gentiana'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species it is considered a large genus. They are notable for their mostl ...

saponaria'', '' Hydrangea macrophylla'' ‘Pia’, ''

Pieris japonica ''Pieris japonica'', the Japanese andromeda or Japanese pieris, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae. It is native to eastern China, Taiwan, and Japan, where it grows in mountain thickets. This medium-sized evergreen shru ...

'' ‘Shojo’, and '' Trochodendron aralioides''. * Mixed Border — a large border planting (300 × 15 feet) (91 × 4.6 m) of trees, shrubs, groundcovers, perennials, and bulbs; plants include ''

Campsis ''Campsis,'' commonly known as trumpet creeper or trumpet vine, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to woodlands in China and North America. It consists of two species, both of which are vigorous deciduous perennial ...

grandiflora'' 'Morning Calm', ''

thyoides'' 'Rubicon', '' Clematis'' 'Betty Corning', '' Cornus sericea'' 'Silver and Gold', and ''

Hamamelis Witch-hazels or witch hazels (''Hamamelis'') are a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, with three species in North America ('' H. ovalis'', '' H. virginiana'', and '' H. vernalis''), and one each in Japan ('' H.&nb ...

× intermedia'' ‘Jelena’. * Model Gardens — home demonstration gardens. * Paradise Garden — for the senses of sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell; plants include ''

Aloysia triphylla ''Aloysia citrodora'', lemon verbena, is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family Verbenaceae, native to South America. Other common names include lemon beebrush. It was brought to Europe by the Spanish and the Portuguese in the 17th ce ...

'', '' Corylus avellana'' ‘Contorta’, '' Hosta'' ‘Sum and Substance’, and ''

Ziziphus ''Ziziphus'' is a genus of about 40 species of spiny shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, distributed in the warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of the world. The leaves are alternate, entire, with three promi ...

jujuba'' ‘Inermis’. * Perennial Border — nearly 1,000 plants in a large border planting (450 × 18 feet) (140 × 5.5 m), with color scheme based upon a plan by

Gertrude Jekyll Gertrude Jekyll ( ; 29 November 1843 – 8 December 1932) was a British horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, and wrote ...

. * Southall Memorial Garden — a hemlock tree grove, with mixed plantings and an open grassy area for gatherings. * Xeric Garden — plants from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and the American Southwest, including '' Agave'', '' Dasylirion'', '' Echinocactus'', '' Hesperaloe'', ''

Nolina ''Nolina'' is a genus of tropical xerophytic flowering plants, with the principal distribution being in Mexico and extending into the southern United States. They are large, dioecious plants. Some botanists have included the genus ''Beaucarnea ...

'', ''

Opuntia ''Opuntia'', commonly called prickly pear or pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae. Prickly pears are also known as ''tuna'' (fruit), ''sabra'', ''nopal'' (paddle, plural ''nopales'') from the Nahuatl word f ...

'', and ''

Yucca ''Yucca'' is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40–50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flo ...

''. * Winter Garden — plants at their best in winter, including '' Cryptomeria'', ''

'', '' Cornus officinalis'' 'Kintoki', ''

Edgeworthia ''Edgeworthia'' (paper bush) is a genus of plants in the family Thymelaeaceae. When the genus was first described, it was published twice in the same year (1841), in two separate publications: '; and ''Denkschriften der Regensburgischen Botanisch ...

chrysantha'', ''

Epimedium ''Epimedium'', also known as barrenwort, bishop's hat, fairy wings, horny goat weed, or yin yang huo (), is a genus of flowering plants in the family Berberidaceae. The majority of the species are endemic to China, with smaller numbers elsewhere ...

'', ''

Helleborus Commonly known as hellebores (), the Eurasian genus ''Helleborus'' consists of approximately 20 species of herbaceous or evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, within which it gave its name to the tribe of Helleboreae. ...

'' × ''hybridus'', ''

'', '' Iris unguicularis'', ''

Prunus ''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and the p ...

mume'' 'Rose Glow', and ''

''.

History

Plant collections

The major gardens

See also