WALK THIS WAY - Arizona Daily Wildcat - University of Arizona

UA’s Campus Arboretum
continues to grow, with
7,000 trees and
counting.
Get to
know
the famous
baobab and other
cool greenery.
By Mike Chesnick
There’s a story behind almost
every tree, plant or cactus at the
University of Arizona, where you
can see more than 400 individual
species from around the world by
touring the campus.
For intrigue, it’s hard to top the
tale of the towering baobab, which
stands proudly just west of the Administration
Building’s front doors.
The tree’s amazing journey began
in Madagascar, where a U.S.
couple transported seeds to Virginia
and germinated them in 1980.
Taking the seedlings out West, the
couple saw them confi scated at
the Arizona border by Department
of Agriculture offi cials who didn’t
recognize the species. Unsure
what to do, the offi cials gave them
to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Mu-
seum, which fi gured out the trees
couldn’t survive in its habitat. Enter
Warren Jones, a former UA professor
of landscape architecture,
who took a 15-gallon size seedling
and planted it by the Administration
Building in 1981.
“When Warren’s tree started to
fl ower, he sent some examples to
an expert, who said it was the only
fl owering example of that species
in the Western Hemisphere,” says
Elizabeth “Libby” Davison, retired
director of UA’s Campus Arboretum.
“And that also means our baobab
is the largest, or most mature,
in the Western Hemisphere.”
The baobab, pronounced “bay-
O-bab,” may be the oldest life form
in Africa and Madagascar, with a
barrel-like trunk that stores water.
It is one of 22 heritage trees
amid the UA Campus Arboretum,
considered the oldest continually
maintained public green space in
the state.
Other trees of note include the
spiky boojum in the Krutch cactus
Did you know?
The university uses reclaimed
water for the campus
arboretum — more than 90
million gallons a year.
UA has fi ve certifi ed arborists
and a grounds staff of more
than 60 people.
You can adopt a tree — from
$500 to $5,000 — with a
plaque identifying the donor or
loved one at the base.
Baobab tree, southwest corner of Administration building
Cynthia Callahan photo