• Title image for the visual essay, with the title in handwritten text: Entangled Histories:/Notes on an Arnold Arboretum Tree Tag/King Boris Fir. With "King Boris Fir highlighted in green between two scribbled trees also highlighted in green.



Kathleen McDermott loves to learn and share from the full range of Arnold Arboretum Programs, building on 40 years as a historian, artist, and urban cyclist (see www.hautehistory.com).


Sources | Page 3: Botanical data

“Abies borisii-regis Mattf.,” International Dendrology Society (2021). https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/abies/abies-borisii-regis/.

“Abies × borisii-regis,” The Gymnosperm Database (2023). https://www.conifers.org/pi/Abies_borisii-regis.php

“Abies borisii-regis f. acutata-pilosa Mattf.,” Global Biodiversity Information Facility. https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/212301590. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin (2017).

Herbarium Berolinense, Berlin (B). https://doi.org/10.15468/dlwwhz.

“King Boris Fir,” Arnold Arboretum Explorer (date). https://arboretum.harvard.edu/explorer/.

Page 4: Mattfeld

“Johannes Mattfeld,” Bionomia (2024). https://en.bionomia.net/Q96745

“Johannes Mattfeld,” Wikipedia (2022). (Translated from German.) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Mattfeld

BBG size and reputation

Hiepko, Paul, “The collections of the Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem (B) and their history,” 219-252 and Lack, H. Walter, “Opera magna in Berlin plant taxonomy,” 253-288 in Scholz, Hildemar. “Botany in Berlin.” Englera, no. 7 (1987): 1–288. https://doi.org/10.2307/3776724.

R., A. “Prof. Adolf Engler.” Nature 126, 814–815 (1930). https://doi.org/10.1038/126814a0

Mattfeld naming 1925

“Abies borisii-regis Mattf.,” International Dendrology Society (2021). https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/abies/abies-borisii-regis/.

“Abies × borisii-regis,” The Gymnosperm Database (2023). https://www.conifers.org/pi/Abies_borisii-regis.php

Page 5: AA contract

Mattfeld, Joh. “A Botanical Journey in Greece in the Summer of 1926.” Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 8, no. 3 (1927): 133–49. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43782630.

E. H. W., A. R., and E. M. T. “The Arnold Arboretum during the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1927.” Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 8, no. 4 (1927): 241–45. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43780468. (See page 243: “Dr. Joh. Mattfeld collected in Greece from May to October 1926 …”

1926: Contract Collections in the Balkan Peninsula.” Arnold Arboretum.

Planted 1927

“King Boris Fir,” Arnold Arboretum Explorer (date?). https://arboretum.harvard.edu/explorer/

Page 6: King Boris death and Bulgarian Jews

Frank, Elizabeth. Review of Pied Virtue: Tzvetan Todorov on the Rescue of the Bulgarian Jews, by Tzvetan Todorov. Salmagundi, no. 137/138 (2003): 204–22. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40549491.

“Boris III of Bulgaria,” Wikipedia (2024). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_III_of_Bulgaria

Destruction of Berlin Botanical Museum

Hiepko, Paul, “The collections of the Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem (B) and their history,” 219-252 and Lack, H. Walter, “Opera magna in Berlin plant taxonomy,” 253-288 in Scholz, Hildemar. “Botany in Berlin.” Englera, no. 7 (1987): 1–288. https://doi.org/10.2307/3776724.

“The Botanical Gardens and Museum at Berlin-Dahlem.” Kew Bulletin 4, no. 2 (1949): 172–75. https://doi.org/10.2307/4113675.

From “free” to “friend”…

Established in 1911 as the Bulletin of Popular InformationArnoldia has long been a definitive forum for conversations about temperate woody plants and their landscapes. In 2022, we rolled out a new vision for the magazine as a vigorous forum for tales of plant exploration, behind-the-scenes glimpses of botanical research, and deep dives into the history of gardens, landscapes, and science. The new Arnoldia includes poetry, visual art, and literary essays, following the human imagination wherever it entangles with trees.

It takes resources to gather and nurture these new voices, and we depend on the support of our member-subscribers to make it possible. But membership means more: by becoming a member of the Arnold Arboretum, you help to keep our collection vibrant and our research and educational mission active. Through the pages of Arnoldia, you can take part in the life of this free-to-all landscape whether you live next door or an ocean away.

For more tree-entangled art, science, and writing, subscribe to Arnoldia by becoming a member of the Arnold Arboretum.