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{{Organization 
|OrganizationName=United States National Arboretum 
|OrganizationType=Research and Development Agencies
|Mission=The U.S. National Arboretum enhances the economic, environmental, and aesthetic value of ornamental and landscape plants through long-term, multi-disciplinary research, conservation of genetic resources, and interpretive gardens and exhibits. It serves as a key research institution dedicated to improving the diversity and sustainability of plant life.
|OrganizationExecutive=Director
|Employees=70
|Budget=$11,000,000 (Approximate, based on recent mentions)
|Website=https://www.usna.usda.gov/
|Services=Botanical Research; Plant Conservation; Public Gardens; Educational Programs
|ParentOrganization=Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture
|CreationLegislation=National Arboretum Act of 1927
|Regulations=
|HeadquartersLocation=38.914164, -76.963775
|HeadquartersAddress=3501 New York Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002
}}
The '''United States National Arboretum''' is an arboretum in northeast [[Washington, D.C.]], operated by the [[United States Department of Agriculture]]'s [[Agricultural Research Service]]. It was established in 1927 by an [[act of Congress]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/law/help/statutes-at-large/69th-congress/session-2/c69s2ch505.pdf|title=69th Congress, Sess. II, Chap. 505|website=Library of Congress|access-date=10 April 2020}}</ref> after a campaign by USDA Chief Botanist Frederick Vernon Coville.

It is {{convert|446|acre|km2}} in size and is located {{convert|2.2|mi|km}} northeast of the Capitol building, with entrances on New York Avenue, NE and R Street, NE. The campus's gardens, collections, and features are connected by roadways that are {{Convert|9.5|mi|km|abbr=}} long in total.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://usna.usda.gov/about/who-we-are-about-the-arboretum/|title=Who We Are (About the Arboretum)|website=U.S. National Arboretum|access-date=10 April 2020}}</ref> In addition to the main campus in Washington, D.C., there are research locations at the [[Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center]] in Beltsville, Maryland and in McMinville, Tennessee.<ref name=":1" />

The Arboretum functions as a major center of botanical research conducted by the USDA, including applied research on trees, shrubs, turf, and the development of new ornamental plants.<ref name=":1" /> In addition to a library and a historical collection (archive), the institution also has an extensive herbarium of over 800,000 specimens documenting wild and cultivated plant diversity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://usna.usda.gov/science/herbarium/|title=The U.S. National Arboretum Herbarium|website=U.S. National Arboretum|access-date=10 April 2020|archive-date=21 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421030921/https://www.usna.usda.gov/science/herbarium/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==History==
The United States National Arboretum was formally established by an act of Congress on 4 March 1927.<ref name=":0" /> The act authorized the creation of the arboretum on what was then called Mount Hamilton, but it did not actually appropriate any funding to make that happen.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|date=7 March 1927|title=Failure to Obtain Arboretum Funds Blow to Southeast: Citizens Hoped Bill Would Authorize Mt. Hamilton Area, Tucker Declares|page=7|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> That particular area was well-suited for the arboretum because it had varied soils and physiography, and no permanent buildings were then present.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite news|date=7 April 1929|title=Nation to Have Arboretum on Plot Near Washington; Negotations [sic] in Progress for Purchase of Land For Great Garden Project|page=15|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/04/07/archives/nation-to-have-arboretum-on-plot-near-washington-negotations-in.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=12 May 1929|title=A National Arboretum|page=16|work=The Baltimore Sun}}</ref> 

Ten months later, [[President of the United States|President]] Calvin Coolidge signed a law appropriating $300,000 for the National Arboretum.<ref>{{Cite news|date=23 December 1927|title=Coolidge Signs Bill Covering Deficiencies|page=20|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> An initial {{convert|189|acre}} were purchased in 1928, with an additional {{convert|196|acre}} being acquired in 1934.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form|url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/117692562|website=National Archives Catalog|series=File Unit: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: Washington, DC, 1/1/1964 - 12/31/2013 |access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref> Additional land was purchased in 1938, 1948, and 1949 that, along with subsequent minor expansions, contributed to the Arboretum's current footprint of {{convert|446|acre}}.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":1" />

On April 11, 1973, the U.S. National Arboretum was listed as a Category II Landmark in the [[National Register of Historic Places]] for its "importance which contributes significantly to the cultural heritage and visual beauty of the District of Columbia."<ref name=":4" />

The construction of a Chinese garden, the National China Garden has been proposed for the National Arboretum since 2003. A groundbreaking  was held in 2016 but the garden was reportedly cancelled due to counter-intelligence concerns regarding the construction of a large pagoda that could be used for collecting signals intelligence.<ref name=WSJ>{{cite news|last1=O'Keeffe|first1=Kate|last2=Viswanatha|first2=Aruna|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313025434/https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-warned-jared-kushner-about-wendi-deng-murdoch-1516052072|archivedate=13 March 2018|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-warned-jared-kushner-about-wendi-deng-murdoch-1516052072|title=U.S. Warned Jared Kushner About Wendi Deng Murdoch|date=25 July 2022|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|accessdate=24 November 2022}}</ref><ref name=CNN>{{cite news|last=Bo Lillis|first=Katie|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220723061208/https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/23/politics/fbi-investigation-huawei-china-defense-department-communications-nuclear/index.html|archivedate=23 July 2022|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/07/23/politics/fbi-investigation-huawei-china-defense-department-communications-nuclear/index.html|title=CNN Exclusive: FBI investigation determined Chinese-made Huawei equipment could disrupt US nuclear arsenal communications|date=25 July 2022|work=[[CNN]]|accessdate=24 November 2022}}</ref>

==Gardens and collections==
===Major gardens===

*Asian Collections
**Japanese Woodland, Asian Valley, China Valley, and Korean Hillside
*Fern Valley Native Plant Collections
**Woodland, prairie, and Southeastern Coastal Plain
*Flowering Tree Collection
*The Friendship Garden and Arbor House
*Gotelli Dwarf and Slow Growing Conifer Collection
**Gotelli and Watnong Collections
*Introduction Garden
*[[National Bonsai & Penjing Museum]]
*National Grove of State Trees
*National Herb Garden
**Historic roses, Knot Garden, and themed gardens
*Washington Youth Garden

Source:<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://usna.usda.gov/discover/gardens-collections/|title=Gardens & Collections|website=U.S. National Arboretum|access-date=10 April 2020}}</ref>

===Single-genus groupings===
*Azalea Collections
**Glenn Dale Azalea Hillside, Morrison Garden, and Lee Garden
*Dogwood Collection
*Holly Collection
*Magnolia Collection
*National Maple Collection<ref>{{Cite web|title=National Acer Multisite Collection|url=https://www.publicgardens.org/programs/plant-collections-network/collections-showcase/acer-multisite|website=American Public Gardens Association|access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref>
*National Boxwood Collection<ref>{{Cite web|title=National Boxwood Collection|url=https://www.publicgardens.org/programs/plant-collections-network/collections-showcase/buxus|website=American Public Gardens Association|access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref>
*Perennial Collections

Source:<ref name=":2" />

=== National Grove of State Trees ===
The National Grove of State Trees (often just called the Grove) is a display of trees representing the 50 states and the District of [[District of Columbia|Columbia]]. Fifty-one plots are arrayed over 30 acres (120,000&nbsp;m<sup>2</sup>), each plot home to a grouping of a [[List of U.S. state and territory trees|state's official tree species]], or in a few cases, another [[species]] indigenous to the state but better suited to growing in the local [[climate]].

[[Bald cypress]] that might be found in a Louisiana swamp grow just a short walk from pines and birches that grow in [[New England]] forests; young [[Sequoia sempervirens|redwoods]] from [[California]] grow near [[Populus sect. Aegiros|cottonwoods]] that might grow in riverside forests in the otherwise treeless [[Great Plains]] States.

Although the mid-Atlantic region has mild weather, which allows the USDA to grow most of the designated species, it cannot successfully grow a few of the state trees such as the [[cabbage palmetto]], which is the state tree of both [[Florida]] and [[South Carolina]], or the [[kukui]], which is [[Hawaii]]'s state tree. Substitutes have been made for these species, so the arboretum could have a tree that is important in each of the states. Planting was undertaken in 1989 with the [[National Association of State Foresters]], the [[American Forest Foundation]], the [[USDA Forest Service]], and the National Arboretum.

The centerpiece of the collection is the portal adjacent to the [[M Street (Washington, D.C.)|M Street]] parking lot. A wooden entrance arbor is dedicated to the memory of Jeanne Yeutter, wife of former Secretary of Agriculture [[Clayton Yeutter]]. Her sponsorship of the project helped the concept of a Grove of State Trees to be realized. The inscription on the arbor reads, "In Celebration of Jeanne Yeutter's Love of Trees". The arbor leads to a large plaza with a flagstone star and a wall adorned with pottery tiles designed and fabricated by Liza Bach, a [[Tennessee]] crafter. Each tile is individually cast with the name of each state and a raised image of the foliage of the state tree.

=== National Bonsai and Penjing Museum ===
The collections of the [[National Bonsai Foundation|National Bonsai and Penjing Museum]] are found throughout the Japanese, Chinese, and North American Pavilions, as well as a conservatory.<ref name=":2" /> The Mary E. Mrose Exhibit Gallery features season and rotating displays of [[bonsai]] as well as a collection of [[Gongshi|viewing stones]].

Among the many bonsai accessions is a Japanese white pine [[cultivar]], ''Pinus parviflora'' 'Miyajima', donated in 1975 by Masaru Yamaki to mark the [[United States Bicentennial|United States' bicentenary]]. This tree was formerly in [[Hiroshima|Hiroshima, Japan]] and survived the 1945 [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|atomic bombing of Hiroshima]]. The tree has been "in training" since 1625.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Siddiqui|first=Faiz|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/the-390-year-old-tree-that-survived-an-atomic-bomb/2015/08/02/3f824dae-3945-11e5-8e98-115a3cf7d7ae_story.html|title=This 390-year-old bonsai tree survived an atomic bomb, and no one knew until 2001|date=2 August 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=10 April 2020}}</ref>

A Japanese temple bell hangs at the entrance to the Japanese Pavilion. Cast in bronze in 1798, the bell was donated by the [[National Bell Festival]] and installed on 1 January 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-01 |title=Ringing in the New Year, Literally |url=https://www.bonsai-nbf.org/blog-archive/2024/01/04/ringing-in-the-new-year-bell-ceremony |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=National Bonsai Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref> Featuring three panels of classical Japanese inscriptions, the bell stands 27 inches tall and weighs 80 pounds.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1798 Hanshō {{!}} National Bell Festival |url=https://www.bells.org/blog/1798-hansho |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=www.bells.org}}</ref>

==Non-garden features==
[[File:Split Ritual.jpg|thumb|upright|''Split Ritual'' by [[Beverly Pepper]]]]

The [[National Capitol Columns]], a set of twenty-two [[Corinthian column]]s which were once part of the East Portico of the [[United States Capitol]] building from 1828 to 1958,<ref name=":2" /> are located on a hilltop in the Ellipse Meadow. The foundation on which the columns sit is constructed from steps originally at the Capitol. The columns were moved from storage to the Arboretum starting in 1988 and dedicated in 1990.

Ruins of the [[United Brick Corporation Brick Complex]] sit along the northwestern border of the Arboretum. They can be easily viewed from the New York Avenue parking lot. The kilns and associated structures, which the USDA acquired in 1976, were added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1978. The site is not accessible to the public.

The U.S. National Arboretum is home to a pair of mated [[bald eagle]]s named Mr. President and The First Lady. The pair began nesting at the Arboretum in 2014; the first eagles to nest there since 1947.<ref>{{Cite web|title=National Arboretum Eagle Nest Cam|url=https://naeaglecam.org/|website=American Eagle Foundation|access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref> An eagle nest cam sponsored by the [[American Eagle Foundation]] provides a livestream video feed of the nest during mating season.

A small collection of public artwork, including ''Split Ritual'' by American sculptor [[Beverly Pepper]], can be found at the Arboretum. The piece is made of [[ductile iron]] and stands at {{Convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on}} H x {{Convert|44|in|cm|abbr=on}} W x {{Convert|100|in|cm|abbr=on}} D. It consists of four vertical pieces that resemble large tools. They are placed in a circle on top of a flat, doughnut-shaped foundation. The sculpture was dedicated in 1993.

In 2020, the U.S. National Arboretum re-introduced popular koi (fish) to the reflecting pool near the administration building.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Koi Return to the Administration Building Pool!|url=https://www.usna.usda.gov/about/news/koi-return-to-the-administration-building-pool}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of botanical gardens and arboretums in the United States|List of botanical gardens and arboreta in the United States]]
* [[Architecture of Washington, D.C.]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{Official website}}
*{{OL author}}
*{{BHL author}}
*[https://www.usna.usda.gov/discover/gardens-collections/grove-of-state-trees/ USNA Grove of State Trees (official site)]
*[https://naeaglecam.org American Eagle Foundation]
*[http://www.fona.org/ Friends of the National Arboretum (FONA)]
*[https://www.bonsai-nbf.org National Bonsai Foundation]
*[https://ncagardenclubs.org National Capital Area Garden Clubs]
*[http://www.washingtonyouthgarden.org Washington Youth Garden]
*{{osmway|120905695}}

{{Washington DC landmarks}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Arboreta in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Botanical gardens in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:United States Department of Agriculture facilities]]
[[Category:United States National Agricultural Library]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1927]]
[[Category:1927 establishments in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:1927 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Arboreta in the United States]]
[[Category:Agricultural research institutes in the United States]]
[[Category:Research institutes in Washington, D.C.]]