Dominion Arboretum

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Dominion Arboretum Giant Salix.jpg
Dominion Arboretum
Dominion Arboretum along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa. OttawaArboretum.jpg
Dominion Arboretum along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa.
Arboretum's pathway along crabapple trees collection CEF Arboretum by Wilder.JPG
Arboretum's pathway along crabapple trees collection

The Dominion Arboretum is an arboretum part of the Central Experimental Farm of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Originally begun in 1889, the Arboretum covers about 26 hectares (64 acres) of rolling land between Prince of Wales Drive, Dow's Lake and the Rideau Canal. Carleton University is located at the opposite side of the Canal. At a latitude of 45°, it can experience extremely hot and humid summers and extremely cold winters.

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It displays a wide range of well-established trees and shrubs with the intention of evaluating their hardiness, including 1,700 different species and varieties. [1] The arboretum is open from dawn to dusk and the admission is free.

Although the climate of the Ottawa area is Zone 5a, the topography of the Arboretum produces a microclimate and is warmer by one zone. This has allowed for a collection of magnolias, azaleas, and several other fringe trees including Metasequoia and Liriodendron.

One of the favourite attractions for tourists is the Ornamental Gardens. In this area are located the annual plant display, perennial borders, lilac walks, roses and hedges. The hedge collection was planted between 1966 and 1968 and contains a variety of species suitable for use as a hedge.

See also

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<i>Ulmus</i> × <i>hollandica</i> Belgica Elm cultivar

The hybrid elm cultivar Ulmus × hollandica 'Belgica', one of a number of hybrids arising from the crossing of Wych Elm with a variety of Field Elm, was reputedly raised in the nurseries of the Abbey of the Dunes, Veurne, in 1694. Popular throughout Belgium and the Netherlands in the 19th century both as an ornamental and as a shelter-belt tree, it was the 'Hollandse iep' in these countries, as distinct from the tree known as 'Dutch Elm' in Great Britain and Ireland since the 17th century: Ulmus × hollandica 'Major'. In Francophone Belgium it was known as orme gras de Malines.

<i>Ulmus</i> Koopmannii Elm cultivar

The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Koopmannii' was cloned from a specimen raised from seed sent from Margilan, Turkestan by Koopmann to the Botanischer Garten Berlin c. 1880. Noted in 1881 as a 'new elm', it was later listed by the Späth nursery, catalogue no. 62, p. 6. 101, 1885, as Ulmus Koopmannii, and later by Krüssmann in 1962 as a cultivar of U. minor. Margilan is beyond the main range of Ulmus minor. Augustine Henry, who saw the specimens in Berlin and Kew, believed Koopmann's Elm to be a form of Ulmus pumila, a view not shared by Rehder of the Arbold Arboretum. Ascherson & Graebner said the tree produced 'very numerous root shoots', which suggests it may be a cultivar of U. minor. Until DNA analysis can confirm its origin, the cultivar is now treated as Ulmus 'Koopmannii'.

The putative Wych Elm cultivar Ulmus glabra 'Dovaei', or Doué elm, was raised by the André Leroy nursery at Angers, France, as Ulmus dovaei, before 1868. The Baudriller nursery of Angers marketed it as Ulmus Dowei, "orme de Doué", suggesting a link with the royal nurseries at nearby Doué-la-Fontaine, which stocked elm. Green considered it a form of wych.

The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Folia Rubra' was listed as Ulmus campestris foliis rubris by Louis de Smet in his catalogue of 1877, and Edouard Pynaert van Geert in the same year who obtained the tree from M. Gaujard of Wetteren, Belgium. An U. campestris fol. rubrisHort. was distributed by the Späth nursery, Berlin, in the 1890s and early 1900s.

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<i>Ulmus</i> Fastigiata Glabra Elm cultivar

The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Fastigiata Glabra' was distributed by the Späth nursery, Berlin, in the 1890s and early 1900s as U. montana fastigiata glabra. Späth used U. montana both for cultivars of wych elm and for those of some U. × hollandica hybrids like 'Dampieri'. A specimen of U. montana fastigiata glabra in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh was determined by Melville in 1958 as a hybrid of the U. × hollandica group.

<i>Ulmus</i> Glabra Elm cultivar

The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Glabra' was distributed by the Späth nursery, Berlin, in the 1890s and early 1900s as U. glabraMill.. Not to be confused with the species U. glabraHuds..

The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Betulaefolia Nigrescens', the Black Birch-leaved Elm, reportedly a seedling of a purplish-leaved elm, was first described by Pynaert in 1879 as U. campestris betulaefolia nigrescens. An U. campestris betulaefolia nigrescensHort. was distributed by the Späth nursery, Berlin, in the 1890s and early 1900s.

The field elm cultivar 'Punctata' ['spotted', the leaf] first appeared in the 1886–87 catalogue of Simon-Louis of Metz, France, as U. campestris punctata. It was distributed by the Späth nursery, Berlin, in the 1890s and early 1900s as U. campestris punctataSim.-Louis, the Späth catalogue listing it separately from U. campestris fol. argenteo-variegata and from U. campestris fol. argenteo-marginata. Green considered it possibly a synonym of the Field Elm cultivar 'Argenteo-Variegata'.

Faith Fyles (1875–1961) was the first botanical artist with the Canadian federal government, department of agriculture. Her work resulted in the expansion of the herbarium in Ottawa.

The Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre is an agricultural research centre in British Columbia, Canada. The centre has been historically important in the development of tree fruits. It is administered by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and includes sites at Summerland and Agassiz.

Irene Mounce was a Canadian scientist who specialized in the mating systems of wood-destroying fungi, Hymenomycetes. She was a mycologist at the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, with Canada's federal department of agriculture. Her diligence and insight broke new ground in mycology and her successes made the way easier for other members of her sex.

References

  1. Robin, Laura (29 Sep 2007). "Tree huggers". The Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03.

Coordinates: 45°23′27″N75°42′16″W / 45.3908°N 75.7044°W / 45.3908; -75.7044