University Of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum
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The University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum is a teaching and research facility of the
University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...
and the site of historic research in ecological restoration. In addition to its in
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
(located about four miles from the main campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison), the
Arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...
also manages of remnant forests and prairies throughout Wisconsin. It was designated a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
in 2021, in recognition for its role as a pioneer in the field of ecological restoration.


History

In 1911,
landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...
John Nolen proposed an arboretum for Madison based on
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
's
Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum is a botanical research institution and free public park affiliated with Harvard University and located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale, Massachusetts, Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston. Established in 1872, it is the ...
. In 1922 Michael Olbrich and the Madison Parks Foundation began working to acquire land on the southwest shore of Lake Wingra. The UW Arboretum was founded on April 26, 1932, when the University Board of Regents accepted from the Parks Foundation the deeds to 6 parcels totalling 246 acres of land, creating the "University of Wisconsin Forest Preserve Arboretum and Wildlife Refuge". The acreage at the time was mostly farmland fields and pastures. In 1932, G. William Longenecker was hired by the Board of Regents to work with the Arboretum and be on the Arboretum Committee, which was formed by Ed Gilbert. In 1933, Longenecker was named Arboretum Executive Director, and he served in this capacity until he retired in 1967. Longenecker Horticultural Gardens would be named after him in 1967, and a stone bench placed, honoring his 34 years of service as the Arboretum's Executive Director. He was also the first Head of the University of Wisconsin Landscape Architecture Department.
Aldo Leopold Aldo Leopold (January 11, 1887 – April 21, 1948) was an American writer, Philosophy, philosopher, Natural history, naturalist, scientist, Ecology, ecologist, forester, Conservation biology, conservationist, and environmentalist. He was a profes ...
was named Research Director of the Arboretum in 1933 and also was the first professor of game management in the U.S. He was also the first chair of the Department of Game Management at the University of Wisconsin. Leopold and other members of the first Arboretum Committee, especially Professor Norman C. Fassett of the Botany Department, proposed a research agenda around re-establishing "original Wisconsin" landscape and plant communities, particularly those that predated European settlement, such as
tallgrass prairie The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and Historical ecology#Anthropogenic fire, anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to th ...
and
oak savanna An oak savanna is a type of savanna (or lightly forested grassland), where oaks (''Quercus ''spp.) are the dominant trees. It is also generally characterized by an understory that is lush with grass and herb-related plants. The terms "oakery" or ...
. Between 1935 and 1941, crews from the
Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...
provided most of the labor to accomplish this task under the supervision of Ted Sperry, an ecologist and prairie plant root specialist who had studied with Arthur G. Vestal at the University of Illinois. Such work would eventually become known as
ecological restoration Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed or transformed. It is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair ...
. Some of the first tall-grass prairie restorations in the United States took place at the Arboretum. In 2020, Curtis Pond was rehabilitated, and an invasive prairie plant was removed. In addition to its long-standing commitment to
ecological restoration Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed or transformed. It is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair ...
, the Arboretum also features traditional horticultural collections of labeled plants arranged in garden-like displays. Today the Arboretum manages the oldest restored tall grass prairie in the nation along with an extensive collection of restored ecosystems that are referred to as "ecological communities": woodlands, savannas, prairies, wetlands, springs, and the Lake Wingra shoreline. In 1994, Ed Hasselkus became the volunteer curator for the Longenecker Horticultural Gardens. In 2022, Ed and Betty Hasselkus endowed the curator position for the Longenecker Horticultural Gardens. In July, the curator position was named the Ed Hasselkus curator of the Longenecker Horticultural Gardens


Prairies and savannas

More than 300 species of native plants that once dominated the landscape of southern
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
have been restored to the arboretum's
prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
s and
savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
s. * Curtis Prairie () – described as the world's oldest restored prairie; a
tallgrass prairie The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and Historical ecology#Anthropogenic fire, anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to th ...
with big bluestem grass and Indian grass. * Greene Prairie () – planted by prairie expert Henry Greene during the 1940s and 1950s. * Marion Dunn Prairie () – restoration of a settling pond. * Marsh Connection – transition between Curtis Prairie and wetlands. * Sinaiko Overlook Prairie () – mesic to dry-mesic prairie dominated by Indian grass. * Southwest Grady Oak Savanna – southern Wisconsin fire-adapted communities. * Wingra Oak Savanna – open-grown bur oaks, being restored by the replacement of its
understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the Canopy (biology), forest ca ...
of non-native trees, shrubs, and weeds with grassland species.


Deciduous forests

* Gallistel Woods (28 acres) – will eventually be representative of a southern Wisconsin
sugar maple ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and the eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the ...
forest. * Grady Dry Oak Woods – part of the southern Wisconsin fire communities. * Lost City Forest – mixed woodlands. Originally envisioned as an ambitious planned community, Lake Forest development planners began selling its first lots in 1918. However, the land wasn't suited for construction and roads and foundations soon began to sink. Financial fraud and a series of bankruptcies contributed to the abandonment of the project. There are still some concrete foundations and sidewalks visible in the area. * Noe Woods (41 acres) –
white oak ''Quercus'' subgenus ''Quercus'' is one of the two subgenera into which the genus ''Quercus'' was divided in a 2017 classification (the other being subgenus ''Cerris''). It contains about 190 species divided among five sections. It may be calle ...
s and black oaks; the larger oaks are now about 150 years old. Noe woods is named for the Bartlett-Noé (sometimes spelled Noe, without the accent over the “e”) family farm, which was sold by Mrs. Jessie Bartlett Noé to the University in 1933 for inclusion in the Arboretum. * Wingra Woods (52 acres) – oak woods underplanted with
sugar maple ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and the eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the ...
, basswood, and
beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...
; gradually changing to a forest with sugar maple as the dominant species.


Conifer forests

* Boreal Forest (14 acres) –
spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...
and
fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...
plantings. * Leopold Pines (21 acres) – red and white
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
s planted between 1933 and 1937, with small numbers of red
maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...
, white
birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...
, and northern shrubs and ground plants.


Wetlands

* Gardner Marsh –
cattail ''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrushStreeter D, Hart-Davies C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. ...
s, reed canary grass, exotic shrubs, and other woody vegetation. * Redwing Marsh – habitat for redwinged blackbirds and waterfowl. * Southeast Marsh – large
wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
. * Teal Pond Wetlands –
sedge The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as wikt:sedge, sedges. The family (biology), family is large; botanists have species description, described some 5,500 known species in about 90 ...
meadow and pond, with
boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway typically built with wooden planks, which functions as a type of low water bridge or small viaduct that enables pedestrians to ...
s. * Wingra Marsh – relatively untouched wetlands.


Horticultural collections

* Longenecker Horticultural Gardens (35 acres) – more than 5,000 plants of more than 2,500 taxa; a leading collection of trees, shrubs and vines in Wisconsin. Major displays of
lilac ''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly ...
s, flowering
crabapple ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 32–57 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples (sometimes known in North America as crabapples) and wild apples. The genus i ...
s (said to be one of the most complete and up-to-date in the world),
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 memb ...
s,
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 sin ...
s (including a large collection of arborvitae cultivars), and dozens of other plant groups. More than 100 of Wisconsin's native woody plants are represented in the collections. * Viburnum Garden – more than 80 species and varieties of viburnums, and 110 species and varieties of arborvitae. * Pinetum, the conifer collection in the Longenecker Horticultural Gardens, which was started in 1937, and developed more substantially in 1976 and following. * Wisconsin Native Plant Garden (4 acres) – approximately 500 native Wisconsin plants, with demonstrations for home landscaping.


Mounds

The Native Americans who inhabited Wisconsin built multiple groups of effigy mounds in what is now the Arboretum. Two groups of mounds, both located along McCaffrey Drive, are accessible to visitors. The first group includes panther- and bird-shaped effigies along with a number of linear and conical mounds. The second group, in the Gallistel Woods area, consists of a panther effigy and two linear mounds. A third group of linear mounds is in the eastern portion of the Arboretum but is inaccessible by trail. Charles E. Brown of the
Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of ...
was responsible for restoring the publicly accessible mound groups.


Recreational use

In addition to being a research facility, the Arboretum is also a leisure destination for local residents and tourists. It includes 20 miles of hiking trails, 3 miles of biking roads, 10 miles of ski/snowshoe routes. The Arboretum is open to the public daily without charge. File:University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum.jpg, University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum Visitor Center File:University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum - Wigwam display.jpg,
Wigwam A wigwam, wikiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wikiup'' ...
display at University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum File:University of Wisconsin - Madison Arboretum.jpg, Winter view File:University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum - nest box.jpg,
Nest box A nest box, also spelled nestbox, is a man-made enclosure provided for animals to nest in. Nest boxes are most frequently utilized for birds, in which case they are also called birdhouses or a birdbox/bird box, but some mammals such as bats ma ...
at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum File:Acer rubrum 'Armstrong' Arboretum Madison.jpg, Acer rubrum 'Armstrong', Acer saccharum 'Globosum', and Acer ginnala in Horticultural collections (1987)


See also

* List of botanical gardens and arboretums in Wisconsin


References


Further reading

* *


External links


University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum

Lilac Collections Celebrates 85 years

''Designing in the Prairie Spirit''
An online film about the Native Plant Garden at the U of Wisconsin Arboretum at Madison {{DEFAULTSORT:University Of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum Arboreta in Wisconsin
Arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...
Botanical gardens in Wisconsin Civilian Conservation Corps in Wisconsin Protected areas of Dane County, Wisconsin Tourist attractions in Madison, Wisconsin 1932 establishments in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Dane County, Wisconsin National Historic Landmarks in Wisconsin