Philadelphia Botanical Club Plant Survey of the Lower Historic Garden (2019)

Bartram’s Garden is currently the longest-living botanical garden in the United States, a public park, and it has long been a place of sanctuary for humans, plants, and animals. The garden is situated on a south-facing slope that is bordered by the lower Schuylkill River; the land straddles coastal and piedmont soil types and harbors numerous ecological niches within its 45 acres. The plant collection is a reflection of the places the Bartrams traveled in their lifetimes, hence, a reflection of the flora of eastern North America. It has long been a special place for botanists to study and enjoy a diverse collection of plants within the city of Philadelphia.

Continue the tradition on June 5 from 2 pm until 5 pm; the Philadelphia Botanical Club will venture out to survey the cultivated plant collections of the lower historic garden at Bartram’s Garden. We will go through sections of the garden focusing on systematically listing herbaceous plant material in order to update the long-term botanical record of the site. This will support Bartram’s Garden’s goal of creating and sharing a public record of their plant collection.

We will be looking at cultivated and non-cultivated plants.

There are hundreds of herbaceous specimens at Bartram’s, ranging from spring ephemerals such as Sanguinaria canadensis, Erythronium americanum, and Mertensia virginica which we may catch the tail end of; to cultivated bog and aquatic plants such as Helonias bullata, Orontium aquaticum, Thalia dealbata and Dionaea muscipula; and eastern hardwood understory plants such as Actaea racemosa, Hydrastis canadensis, and Panax quinquefolium. We may be lucky to see “rare birds” such as Calydorea coelestina, Aletris farinosa, and Chamalerium luteum and others such as Zephyranthes atamasco, Elephantopus carolinianus, several different species of Nicotiana, Monarda, and Digitalis each. Grasses such as Hierochloe odorata, and we will also count wild herbaceous plants occurring in the gardens.

Trip leaders will be David Hewitt and Mandy Katz, and we will meet at the picnic tables at the top of the meadow at 2 pm. Bartram’s Garden is located at 5400 Lindbergh Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19143

This is a free event.

Large portions of our 50+ acre botanical garden can be explored via wheelchair, though some of our paths are currently awaiting repairs and should be used at your own discretion. If you have questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out ahead of the event.