The Purdue Arboretum has inventoried over 8,000 trees to date, and has a goal to
accession and document every woody plant in the arboretum. Each plant will be given
an accession number that is linked to a database and campus base map that includes
detailed information about the plant, from campus location, to precise taxonomic
information, to geographic origin, to donor source, to maintenance information.
A recent survey showed that Crabapples (Malus cultivars) are the largest group of
trees on campus at about 11.2%, followed by white pines (Pinus strobus) at 5.7%,
red maples (Acer rubrum) at 5.5%, red oaks (Quercus rubra) at 4.1%, and sugar maples
(Acer saccharum) at 3.8%. Although yew (Taxus) dominates the specimen category for
shrubs today, work by arboretum staff promises to expand the diversity of both tree
and shrub species substantially in the coming years. The Purdue Arboretum contains
numerous unique and rare specimens, including the state champion Cockspur Hawthorn
(Crataegus crusgalli) and Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana), the national co-champion
Smoketree (Cotinus obovatus), one of the most beautiful and cold hardy Cedar of
Lebanon (Cedrus libani ‘Purdue Hardy’) selected by Purdue researchers, and Sweet
Gums (Liquidambar styraciflua) from seeds germinated on the space shuttle. The Purdue
Arboretum’s Blue, Gold, and Green Tree Walk Trails, and the Cattail Trail that connects
campus to the West Lafayette community, provide a wonderful way to enjoy these and
other plants in The Purdue Arboretum.