Prominent among campus tree enthusiasts was William Russel Dudley, 1849–1911, Stanford’s first professor of botany. Dudley was instrumental in establishing Big Basin State Park and Pinnacles National Monument, championed sustainable forestry, and served as a director of the Sierra Club. One of his many interests was California’s coniferous forests – one of the arboreal wonders of the world for their diversity and grandeur. A fitting memorial to Professor Dudley is the century-old Santa Lucia fir growing between the George P. Shultz Building and Jane Stanford Way, in the remnant Encina Garden. Dudley made many trips to remote regions of the Santa Lucia Mountains to study and collect specimens of this beautiful and enigmatic tree. Stanford’s Dudley Herbarium has since been integrated into the collection of the California Academy of Sciences. Read more about Professor Dudley and Stanford’s rich botanical heritage.
Senator Stanford’s preference was that no healthy oak be felled on the farm, and thousands of native California oaks have been planted from the 1880s to the present. Today, portions of the campus canopy are dominated by coast live oak, the most numerous tree on Stanford University lands. Valley, blue, and black oaks can also be found on central campus, the Academic Reserve (the Dish area), and Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve. There has been a loss of diversity from the original tree and shrub plantings of the 1880s and 1890s, well-documented for conifers; over the past quarter century there has also been a loss of eucalypt species, from over 125 species present in the early 1970s to 47 today. Stanford once had one of the most diverse collections of eucalypts in California and still holds some mature specimens of rare and remarkable trees. The superb restoration of the Arizona Garden – and its ongoing enhancement under garden coordinator Christy Smith – suggests the potential for a broader restoration of the remaining intact Arboretum region.
About Us
Trees.stanford.edu is a labor of love. It honors Ron and Helen Bracewell, along with the groundskeepers, botanists, university planners, architects, and community volunteers who have contributed over the past century to Leland Stanford’s vision of growing an arboretum at his Palo Alto farm.
