Boston Flora

Tag: Weld Research Building

  • Saturday, March 30, 9:00 am – 12:30 pm – The American Chestnut: When Will It Flourish Again?

    The American chestnut could be the first tree ever restored to its native forest after suffering from a devastating airborne blight in the early 1900s that killed billions of trees.

    Join The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University on Ssturday, March 30 from 9 – 12:30 for a thought-provoking gathering as experts share perspectives on the history of American chestnut (Castanea dentata), its significance as a forest species, and subsequent decimation by an invasive blight pathogen, Cryphonectria parasitica. Ongoing research in blight tolerance and the addition of blight-tolerant genes are the prognosis for this tree’s future.

    Special speakers include:

    • Dr. David Foster, Director of the Harvard Forest

    • Ms. Sara Fitzsimmons, Director of Restoration at The American Chestnut Foundation

    • Dr. William Powell, Professor and Director of Council on Biotechnology and Forestry at State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry

    • Dr. Jared Westbrook, Director of Science at The American Chestnut Foundation

    A panel discussion will follow the lectures:

    Introduction by Ms. Lisa Thomson, President and CEO of The American Chestnut Foundation

    Panel participants will include each speaker as well as Edward Faison, Senior Ecologist at Highstead Arboretum

    Fee $20 per person (Free for students).Event takes place at the Arnold Arboretum’s WELD HILL RESEARCH BUILDING, 1300 Centre Street, Roslindale, MA

    Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.

    Image result for american chestnut tree

  • Saturday, April 20, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Ginkgo Fest: A Symposium About Ginkgo biloba

    On April 20, three prominent biologists will join forces to share all they know about the unique tree species, Ginkgo biloba.  Ginkgo is a plant species that has existed since the Jurassic period with few evolutionary changes and continues to thrive today. This special symposium includes a series of lectures, a tour of the Arboretum’s Ginkgo biloba collection, and lunch with a tasting of ginkgo nuts. Ginkgo artifacts and illustrations from the Harvard Libraries and collected paraphernalia will also be on display. So don your best ginkgo outfit (we know you have at least one article of clothing with a ginkgo leaf on it) and immerse yourself in the history and biology of this relict species.

    Peter Crane, Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. Dean of the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and Professor of Botany, Yale University, and co- author of the just published book, Ginkgo: The Tree that Time Forgot, Yale University Press,  William “Ned” Friedman, Director, Arnold Arboretum and Arnold Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, and expert in the reproductive biology of early seed plants, including Ginkgo biloba, and Peter Del Tredici, Senior Research Scientist, Arnold Arboretum and Adjunct Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, a botanist who has studied ginkgo for more than 20 years and searched for and located remnant wild stands of ginkgo on the slopes of mountains in southwest China, will be the three luminaries speaking at the symposium.

    WHEN: Saturday, April 20, 2013, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. View details and registration at https://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?DayPlanner=1165&DayPlannerDate=4/20/2013

    WHERE: The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Weld Hill Research Building, 1300 Centre Street, Roslindale, MA. http://arboretum.harvard.edu/visit/weld-hill-directions/

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