Complimentary 
NEW SERIES VOL. II 
NO. 14 
ARNOLD ARBORETUM 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 
BULLETIN 
POPULAR INFORMATION 
JAMAICA PLAIN, MASS. OCTOBER 13. 1916 
Gordonia alatamaha. With the exception of the Witch Hazel, which 
in this latitude is a shrub rather than a tree, this Gordonia is the last 
tree of the year to flower in the Arboretum, and its pure white, cup- 
shaped flowers, resembling a single Camellia flower, can now be seen 
on the plants on Azalea Path and on Hickory Path near Centre Street. 
This handsome little tree has an interesting history. It was discov- 
ered by John Bartram, the famous Pennsylvania traveler and botanist, 
in 1765 near Fort Barrington on the Altamaha River in Georgia. 
John Bartram’s son William visited the locality in 1778 and collected 
seeds and roots of this tree, and Dr. Moses Marshall who visited the 
locality in 1790 was the last botanist who has seen it growing natur- 
ally. Many botanists have hunted for it in vain in the neighborhood 
of Fort Barrington but without success, and this tree has been pre- 
served by the plants and seeds collected by William Bartram and their 
descendants. Many of these are growing in gardens near Philadelphia 
and there are large and very old specimens in the neglected arboreta 
of the Brothers Painter at Medina and of John Evans in Radnor 
Township, Delaware County. Good plants may be seen in Fairmount 
Park near the Horticultural Building and in a few private gardens near 
the city. This Gordonia has been an inhabitant of the Arboretum for 
many years where it flowers in sheltered positions every autumn. Late 
in the season the leaves turn orange and scarlet before falling. 
Summer and autumn fruits. The interesting and often brilliant 
fruits of many trees and shrubs can be found in the Arboretum every 
year from July to March, and although this is not a remarkably good 
season for fruits here some plants are producing unusually large and 
brilliantly colored crops. Nowhere else are the fruits of trees and 
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