Astrophytum asterias blooming in the Cactus Display House. Photo by: Joseph Pacheco
Revealing the Hidden Bounty of Boyce Thompson Arboretum’s Plant Collections Text by: Becky Stephenson, Plant Collections Manager Photos by Becky Stephenson & Joseph Pacheco
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erving as only the second full-time dedicated plant records employee in history at a large arboretum founded in the early 1920’s is no small task! Since I started last summer, I have been working tirelessly to bring our plant records current and assess the diversity of our collection. With a total size of 343 acres (135 acres of which are cultivated), we are considered a very large operation as botanical gardens go. Over the course
10 | Boyce Thompson Arboretum | Fall 2020
of a century, our horticulture staff has diligently tended to our many plants, removing the old and propagating the new as needed. It is now my job to determine what we currently have in our collection, evaluate its ecological importance, ensure it is being appropriately managed and displayed through new policies and protocols, and begin laying the groundwork for where we hope to go in the future.
