Spontaneous Flora
The spontaneous vegetation that exists here today—which is defined as any plant that grows in an area without assistance from humans—reflects not only the agricultural history of the land but also its long horticultural history. It includes species native to a variety of New England habitats, and species from Europe that were brought here during the colonial period for medicinal, ornamental or agricultural purposes (along with “weedy” species that contaminated their seed). There are also a number of species from Asia, mainly woody and originally planted for landscape purposes, that managed to escape from cultivation and spread throughout the area by various means of dispersal (e.g., wind, water, animal). In short, the Arboretum’s spontaneous vegetation is a cosmopolitan mix of species that reflects the complex social and ecological history of the land itself.
Below are the key published references on the Arboretum’s “wild” flora.
- Del Tredici, P. 2010. Exherpts from Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast. Arnoldia 68(1): 13-25 [pdf]
- Dalton, P.A., Novelo, A.R. 1983. Aquatic and Wetland Plants of the Arboretum Arnoldia 43(2): 7-44. [pdf]
- Green, P.S. 1962. Herbaceous Aliens in the Arboretum. Bulletin of Popular Information 22(7): 49-56. [pdf]
- Palmer, E.J. 1930. The spontaneous flora of the Arnold Arboretum. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 11: 63-119. [pdf]
- Palmer, E.J. 1935. Supplement to the spontaneous flora of the Arnold Arboretum. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 16: 81-87. [pdf]
- Palmer, E.J. 1947. Second supplement to the spontaneous flora of the Arnold Arboretum. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 28: 410-418. [pdf]
- Sargent, C.S. 1874. Report of the Director of the Arnold Arboretum (Republished in Palmer, 1930).
- Del Tredici, P. 2010. Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
- Del Tredici, P. Spontaneous Urban Vegetation: Reflections of Change in a Globalized World. Nature and Culture 5(3), Winter 2010: 299–315 [pdf]
- Hetman, J. The Weeds and the Wilderness: An Interview with Les Mehrhoff on the Spontaneous Flora of the Arnold Arboretum. Silva, Fall/Winter 2008-2009: 2-3. [pdf]