North Carolina Arboretum, The

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United States of America - North Carolina - Asheville

Institution Code: WNCA

BGCI Member: Yes

About the North Carolina Arboretum, The

The North Carolina Arboretum is a 434-acre public garden located within the Bent Creek Experimental Forest of the Pisgah National Forest. Surrounded by the dense folds of the botanically diverse Southern Appalachian Mountains, the Arboretum is nestled in one of the most beautiful natural garden settings in America.

Established in 1986 by the General Assembly as an inter-institutional facility of the University of North Carolina, the Arboretum came into existence nearly a century after this country's father of landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted, first envisioned such an institution near Asheville.

A center for education, research, conservation and economic development, and garden demonstration, the Arboretum offers a wide range of activities for visitors of all ages.

The North Carolina Arboretum is a public institution -- integrating education, landscape, and research -- that elevates the aesthetic, cultural, and economic quality of life in North Carolina. The Arboretum, through conservation of the traditional values, environmental resourcefulness, and botanical mystique of the Southern Appalachian region, broadens contemporary expressions of landscape stewardship.

Main Address:
North Carolina Arboretum, The
100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way
Asheville
North Carolina 28806-9315 United States of America

Telephone: (828) 665-2492
Fax: (828) 665-2371
URL: www.ncarboretum.org
Primary Email: info@ncarboretum.org

Staff Details

  • Director's Name: George Briggs, Executive Director
    Curator's Name: Clara Curtis, Director of Horticulture and Landscape
    Plant Records Officer's Name: Angela Brown, Records
  • Total Staff:
    Horticultural Staff Number: 12
    Educational Staff Number: 6
    Research Staff Number: 2
    Administration Staff Number: 5

About the Garden

  • Institution Type: Botanic Garden
  • Status
  • Status: Private: No
    Status: State: Yes
    Status: Educational: Yes
    Status: Municipal: No
    Status: Satellite: No
    Status: Trust: No
  • Date founded: 1986
  • Physical Data
  • Natural Vegetation Area: Yes
    Natural vegetation area: Size: 151 Hectares
  • Landscaped Area: Yes
    Landscaped Area: Size: 24 Hectares
  • Total Area: 175 Hectares
    Latitude: 35.4962520
    Longitude: -82.6094610
    Annual Rainfall: 411 mm
    Altitude: 762.00 Metres
    Total area of glasshouses: 650 Metres
    Total area of shadehouses: 279 Metres
  • Locality: Information
  • Locality: Garden Name: The North Carolina Arboretum
  • Local Address: 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way
  • Locality: City: Asheville
  • Locality: State: North Carolina

Features and Facilities

  • Arboretum: Yes
    Arboretum Size: 176
  • Micropropagation/ Tissue Culture Facilities: No
    Seed Bank: Yes
    Computer Plant Record System: Yes
  • Open to public: Yes
    Friends society: Yes
    Retail Outlet: Shop: Yes
    Retail Outlet: Plant Sales: Yes
    Disabled access: Yes
  • Number of Visitors: 370000
    Number of Volunteers: 270

Plant Collections

  • Accession Number: 3817
    Cultivation Taxa Num: 2366
  • Special Collections:National Native Azalea Repository, Southeastern US Native woody plants, Southern Appalachian Woody Plants. (2007 figures).

Conservation Programmes

  • Conservation Programme: Yes
    Medicinal Plant Programme: Yes
    Ex Situ Conservation Programme: Yes
    Reintroduction Programme: Yes

Research Programmes

  • Biotechnology: Yes
    Education: Yes
    Ethnobotany: Yes
    Horticulture: Yes
    Invasive Species Biology and Control: Yes
    Sustainability: Yes

Education Programmes

  • Visitor/Education Centre: Yes
    Education Signs in Garden: Yes
    Public Lectures/Talks: Yes
    Education Booklets/Leaflets: Yes
    Guided Tours: Yes
    Permanent Public Displays: Yes
    Special Exhibitions: Yes
    Courses for School Children: Yes
    Courses for General Public: Yes
    Education Programme: Yes