Edith J. Carrier Arboretum and Botanical Gardens

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United States of America - Virginia - Harrisonburg

Institution Code:

BGCI Member: No

ArbNet Accredited: Level I

About the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum and Botanical Gardens

The Edith J. Carrier Arboretum it located at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, U.S. Groundbreaking took place in April 1985 under direction of Dr. Norlyn Bodkin who is credited the first scientific botanical discovery along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States since the 1940s, Trillium: Shenandoah Wake Robin, presently found at the arboretum. The only arboretum and botanical gardens located on campus of a Virginia state university. Exhibits in 16 botanical gardens include an acidic sphagnum bog supporting northern species and insectivorous plants, a native azalea and rhododendron garden sponsored by the Mid Atlantic Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society displaying rare endangered large-flowered azaleas, the only shale barren with endemic species in an arboretum, a 3 mile trail system winding through 125 acres of mature Oak-Hickory Forrest including two identified century specimens and a species on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Threatened Species list found protected at the arboretum: Betula uber, Round-Leaf Birch.

Main Address:
Edith J. Carrier Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
James Madison University
780 University Blvd, MSC 3705
Harrisonburg
Virginia 22807 United States of America

Telephone: (540) 568-3194
Fax: (540) 568-5115
URL: www.jmu.edu/arboretum
Primary Email:

Staff Details

  • Director's Name: Jan Sievers Mahon
    Curator's Name: Gail Turnbull, Assistant Director
    Plant Records Officer's Name:
  • Total Staff:
    Horticultural Staff Number: 4
    Educational Staff Number: 2
    Research Staff Number:
    Administration Staff Number: 2

About the Garden

  • Institution Type: Botanic Garden
  • Status
  • Status: Educational: Yes
  • Physical Data
  • Latitude: 38.4533500
    Longitude: -78.8670790
    Altitude: 0.00 Metres

Features and Facilities

  • Herbarium: Yes
    Herbarium: Number of Specimens: 15000
    Arboretum: Yes
  • Open to public: Yes
    Friends society: Yes

Plant Collections

Conservation Programmes

  • Reintroduction Programme: No

Research Programmes

Education Programmes

  • Education Programme: Yes