A Tree Grows on Campus

In the words of playwright Anton Chekhov, “Life on earth is inconceivable without trees.” Yet how often do we stop to marvel at these living wonders? Trees occupy the realm of superlatives—biggest, tallest, oldest—stretching the boundaries of what we imagine possible in a living thing. Consider Pando, the clonal colony of aspen in Utah’s Fishlake National Forest, whose vast root system emerged at the end of the last Ice Age. A single organism, it ranks among the world’s most ancient and largest living things, occupying 106 acres and weighing 13 million pounds.

Trees don’t just inspire awe. They make our world more livable, creating pockets of serenity in a chaotic modern world. “The atmosphere up in a tree is totally different than down next to the asphalt,” says Charles Perington, an arborist at the University of Utah’s Red Butte Garden & Arboretum and a competitive tree climber. The science backs it up: these leafy giants filter pollution and cool the air, and their soothing hues and aromas measurably affect body and mind. Inhaling the scent of pine, for example, can lower cortisol and boost the immune system.

At the U, trees aren’t merely landscaping—they’re a living museum, born from one man’s simple philosophy: “Let’s plant it and see if it grows.” That man was Walter P. Cottam, the university’s Botany Department chair, whose fascination with trees led him to plant diverse species in what’s now known as Cottam’s Gulch. His efforts spread across campus, transforming it into what the Utah legislature would designate the state’s official arboretum in 1961. In 1985, the garden opened to expand the arboretum and establish permanent display gardens. Together, campus and Red Butte host 11,600 trees spanning more than 300 species.

“Every tree is unique,” says Suzie Middleton, a certified arborist who has inventoried the entire campus collection. Her favorite, a Japanese zelkova planted by Cottam himself, is the largest specimen of its kind in Utah and one of 13 state champions at the U. Middleton oversees the University of Utah tree tour, which allows visitors to explore the collection by scanning QR codes on placards attached to about 100 trees.

Under the canopy of Cottam’s legacy, it’s impossible not to pause and marvel. Read on to discover a few of the species you can visit in this remarkable resource.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

Bur-Gambel Oak

QUERCUS GAMBELII X MACROCARPA

“If I were going to show people one tree, this would be it,” says Red Butte Garden & Arboretum’s Charles Perington. In his eyes, it’s the perfect backyard tree for Salt Lake City, marrying the native Gambel oak’s climate suitability with the Midwestern bur oak’s height and shade. With its long lifespan, “four generations of a family could all grow up underneath the same tree,” Perington notes. The specimen is a result of Walter Cottam’s world-renowned work crossing different oak species. Cottam’s Grove at the garden is filled with his hybrid oaks, whose acorns are still sought after by botanical gardens and researchers worldwide.

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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

Tulip Tree

LIRIODENDRON TULIPIFERA

This eastern North American native is named for its stunning cup-shaped flowers that resemble prize-winning hothouse cultivars. In shades of luminous green to buttery yellow, with flame-like tangerine strokes at the base, the elegant blooms perch on the branches like pretty little teacups on saucers.

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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

Southern Magnolia

MAGNOLIA GRANDIFLORA

Native to more temperate climes, this broadleaf evergreen has no business thriving in northern Utah. But the campus specimen is doing “surprisingly well,” says Suzie Middleton, even after being transplanted from its original site outside the now-demolished Orson Spencer Hall. The tree’s creamy white blooms—which may grow as big as a dinner plate—are among the largest of any native North American tree.

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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

Osage Orange

MACLURA POMIFERA

At first, this tree’s neon-green, wrinkly, softball-sized fruit seems its most distinctive feature. But its wood has almost mythical properties. Durable, flexible, rot-resistant, and dense, it burns so hot that it can reportedly melt woodstoves. Indigenous tribes as far east as the Ohio River Valley and as far west as the Rockies prized and traded for bows made from Osage orange wood. Plains settlers relied on the trees to establish their homesteads, weaving the tough, thorny branches into makeshift barbed-wire fences said to be “horse high, hog tight, and bull strong.”

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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

Ginkgo

GINKGO BILOBA

One of Earth’s oldest tree species, this “living fossil” has changed little since it first appeared on the evolutionary timeline. Ginkgo biloba is the only surviving member of the order Ginkgoales, which predates the dinosaurs at more than 290 million years old. The ginkgo’s iconic fan-shaped leaves give the tree an almost sequined look and turn a show-stopping yellow come fall.

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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

Blue Atlas Cedar

CEDRUS ATLANTICA ‘GLAUCA’

Lacy and graceful, the blue Atlas cedar is a prized ornamental tree in gardens around the world. Clusters of short needles along outstretched branches create a textured, airy look, while the needles’ waxy coating—which helps them conserve water—casts an icy blue hue. One of only four true cedar species, it provides habitat for the endangered Barbary macaque in North Africa’s Atlas Mountains.

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Lisa Anderson is associate editor of Utah Magazine.