Schwartz Plaza Native Woodland Garden, 70 Washington Square South, NYC: American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana); Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum); Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

NYU Garden Shop Plant of the Week, April 17, 2012
Pictured clockwise from the left: American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana) Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum) Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
NYU Garden Shop Plant of the Week, April 17, 2012

By NYU Head Gardener, George Reis

Schwartz Plaza Native Woodland Garden, 70 Washington Square South

Native Woodland Garden--Pictured clockwise from the left:

  • American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana)
  • Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum)
  • Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

With so much going on in the gardens so early this year, it's hard to pick just one plant for the week, so let's go with three in our Mannahatta-themed Native Woodland Garden in Schwartz Plaza on the east face of Bobst Library.

If you look up this part of town on the Mannahatta Project website, you'll see that American Hornbeam is one of the species likely to have been present on this very block before European settlement began in 1609.

This tree, also known as Musclewood for its distinctively sinuous bark, is a widespread understory tree throughout much of the northeast. This tree is just now starting to leaf out and has very distinctive buds. Two wildflowers now in bloom are Wild Columbine and Wild Geranium, also Manhattan natives!

Stop by Schwartz Plaza sometime to see a little bit of what Manhattan once was...


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