![Left to right at tree planting: Sec. Veneman, Sen. Bond, Dr. Elias, Mr. Price, Dr. Jen](020308.02di1306-15.jpg)
CAPTION:
Secretary Ann M. Veneman, Senator Christopher S. Bond, Missouri, Dr. Thomas
Elias, Director U.S. National Arboretum, Woodruff Price, President, Friends of
the National Arboretum, and Joseph J. Jen, under secretary of agriculture for
research education and economics plant a Sun Valley Red Maple on the grounds of
the U.S. Capitol to celebrate the 75 th Anniversary of the U.S. National
Arboretum. USDA Photo 02di1306-15. (Please contact the ARS Photo staff regarding other
photos that may be available.)
![Cherry blossoms of the Tidal Basin: Link to story](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20090515003506im_/http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/apr99/k5876-11i.jpg) The arboretum and the
cherry
blossoms of Washington. Photo
information.
![Betsy Ross lilac, a recent arboretum release: Link to story](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20090515003506im_/http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/sep01/k9608-19i.jpg) Betsy Ross lilac, a recent arboretum release.
Magazine
feature (Sept. 2001). Photo
information. |
Veneman Launches Arboretum's 75th
Anniversary Celebration By
Amy Spillman March 8, 2002
WASHINGTON, March 8Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman kicked off
a year-long celebration of the U.S.
National Arboretum's 75th anniversary today and paid tribute to the
arboretum's contributions to U.S. and world horticulture.
Veneman commemorated the event by participating in the planting
of a Sun Valley red maple on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol with the
ceremony's co-sponsors, including Sen. Christopher S. Bond (Mo.), arboretum
director Dr. Thomas S. Elias and members of the Friends of the National Arboretum.
"This tree symbolizes the contributions of the National
Arboretum to our country over the last 75 years," Veneman said. "The arboretum
is truly a national treasure located right here in our nation's capital."
The arboretum covers 446 acres in northeast Washington, D.C. It
was established by an act of Congress in 1927 to conduct research, provide
education and conserve and display trees, shrubs, flowers and other plants to
enhance the environment.
The arboretum has achieved international recognition through
cooperative research programs with many countries including Austria, Japan and
Russia. Recent renovations to its grounds and facilities have made it one of
Washington's most popular tourist destinations. Approximately 600,000 visitors
tour its gardens annually.
The tree planted during today's ceremony is one of the numerous
award-winning cultivars bred by arboretum researchers. Some of the most well
received have been elm trees resistant to Dutch elm disease (DED), a scourge
that has wiped out nearly 80 million prized American elms since its appearance
in the United States in the 1930s.
By painstakingly screening thousands of elms for resistance to
the fungus that causes the disease, arboretum researchers succeeded in
propagating and releasing two DED-resistant American elms in the mid-1990s,
along with eight resistant elms bred from Asian and European species. One of
the American cultivars, the Valley Forge, was planted on the grounds of the
Capitol in 1996.
The Sun Valley red maple, an American native, was bred as part
of a research project examining the inheritance of fall color and pest
resistance. The tree has exceptional, long-lasting fall color and significant
levels of tolerance to potato leafhopper, a plant pest that feeds on the
underside of leaves. In tests conducted in Maryland, Sun Valley's brilliant red
color lasted about two weeks, peaking in the third to fourth weeks of October.
USDA officials expect the tree to be available for sale to the general public
next year.
During its 75-year history, the arboretum has released more than
650 different woody and herbaceous plants to the American public through the
nursery and floral industries. The Agricultural Research Service, USDA's chief
scientific research agency, operates the arboretum.
In addition to Washington, D.C., the arboretum has research
locations in Beltsville, Md.; Glenn Dale, Md.; and McMinnville, Tenn. For more
information about the National Arboretum, visit
http://www.usna.usda.gov/.
Scientific contact: Thomas S. Elias, Director,
U.S. National Arboretum,
Agricultural Research Service,
USDA, Washington, D.C., phone (202)
245-4539, eliast@ars.usda.gov.
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