Special Interest
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008
When I was the curatorial intern here at the Scott Arboretum, I was given the task of producing the annual evaluation and report of our James R. Frorer Holly collection which would be then given to the Holly Society of America. I remember quiet afternoons by myself tromping around in the snow, checking accession tags, assessing the fruiting and general health of the trees. This is when I realized what an incredible collection we have here at Scott, and how much I enjoy spending time in it. The collection is a designated National Holly Arboretum by the Holly Society of…
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Thursday, September 11th, 2008
Hickory Horned Devil
Citheronia regalis
Yesterday we found a hickory horned devil outside of the Arboretum offices and I was reminded of what fantastic critters they are. Their appearance can be somewhat striking to someone who has never seen one before. I remember I was shocked the first time I saw one. They have spiky horns and can grow up to six inches in length. When they are disturbed, they rear up their spiky heads, but they are actually pretty harmless. They spend the summer eating leaves of Carya, Juglans, Rhus, and Nyssa trees. This time of year they turn a beautiful shade…
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Tuesday, September 9th, 2008
Bordering Swarthmore College and the Scott Arboretum are the Crum Woods. In the last several hundreds of years these woods have been logged, significantly impacted by humans and more recently ravaged by a large white-tailed deer population and the invasion of many invasive exotic species. However, this ecosystem still has a great representation of our native plant communities. The canopy is dominated by climax hardwood species, such as Liriodendron tulipifera, tulip tree; Quercus rubra, red oak; Quercus alba, white oak; and Fagus grandifolia, American beech. The shrub layer includes our native witch hazel, Hamamelis virginiana; arrow wood viburnum, Viburnum dentatum;…
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