Trees | Facilities

The University of Utah is the State Arboretum.

View the official University of Utah tree tour

In 1930, Dr. Walter P. Cottam, co-founder of The Nature Conservancy and chairman of the Botany Department at the University of Utah, began using campus land for plant research. For more than 30 years, he evaluated plants to determine their adaptability to our region.

In 1961, the Utah State Legislature formally recognized Cottam’s impressive collection by designating the University’s campus landscape as the State Arboretum. The original legislation mandated that the Arboretum “provide resources and facilities for cultivating a greater knowledge and public appreciation for the trees and plants around us, as well as those growing in remote sections of the country and world.”

Alternate Tree Tours

Big Tree Registry: The campus proudly is home to a number of state champion big trees.

PDF Tree Identification Tour conducted by Dr. Michael Kuhns in 2011.

Google Maps Interactive Tour: This same 2011 tour on Google maps with an interactive map and GPS coordinates.

Ash

White Ash
Velvet Ash (Dixie White Ash)
Flowering Ash (Manna Ash)
Green Ash
German Ash

Beech

Weeping European Beech
Tricolor Beech
European Beech

Birch

Western Red Birch (Water Birch)
Paper Birch

Catalpa

Northern Catalpa (Western Catalpa)
Umbrella Catalpa

Cedar

Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar
Incense-cedar
Blue Atlas Cedar

Cherry and Plum

Purpleleaf Plum
Japanese Flowering Cherry
Chokecherry

Chitalpa

Coffee Tree

Kentucky Coffeetree

Cork Tree

Crabapple

Flowering Crabapple

Dawn Redwood

Douglas Fir

Elm

Lacebark (Chinese Elm)
American Elm

Falsecypres

Weeping Nootka Falsecypress
Lawson Falsecypress

Filbert

Contorted Filbert (Harry Lauder’s Walkingstick)

Fir

Algerian Fir
White Fir

Ginkgo

Ginkgo (Maidenhair Tree)

Goldenchain Tree

Goldenchain Tree

Goldenrain Tree

Goldenrain Tree

Hackberry

Common Hackberry

Hawthorn

Washington Hawthorn
Lavalle Hawthorn
English Hawthorn
Cockspur Hawthorn

Hornbeam

European Hornbeam

Horsechestnut or Buckeye

Ohio Buckeye
Yellow Horsechestnut (Sweet Buckeye)
Red Horsechestnut
European Horsechestnut

Japanese Lilac Tree

Japanese Lilac Tree

Juniper

Rocky Mountain Juniper

Linden

Littleleaf European Linden
American Linden

Locust

Purple Robe Locust
Honeylocust

Magnolia

Star Magnolia
Southern Magnolia
Saucer Magnolia

Maple

Tatarian Maple
Sycamore Maple
Rocky Mountain Maple
Norway Maple
Paperbark Maple
Japanese Maple
Hedge Maple
Freeman Maple
Bigtooth Maple (Canyon Maple)
Amur Maple

Mimosa

Mimosa (Silktree)

Mountain Ash

European Mountain-ash (Rowan Ash)

Mulberry

Oak

Mongolian Oak
Gambel or Scrub Oak
Eastern Red Oak
Cork Oak
Columnar English Oak
Bur Oak

Osage Orange

Pagoda Tree

Japanese Pagoda Tree

Pea Tree/Shrub

Dwarf Siberian Pea Tree

Pear

Ornamental Flowering Pear

Pine

Scotch Pine
Ponderosa Pine
Pinyon Pine
Limber Pine
Lacebark Pine
Himalayan or Bhutan Pine
Bristlecone Pine
Bosnian Pine
Austrian Pine

Poplar

Redbud

Rubber Tree

Hardy Rubber Tree

Sequoia

Serviceberry

Smoketree

Common Smoketree

Spruce

Weeping Norway Spruce
Oriental Spruce
Blue Spruce

Sumac

Sweetgum

American Sweetgum

Sycamore

London Planetree (Sycamore)

Tulip Tree

Tulip Tree or Yellow Poplar

Viburnum

Doublefile Viburnum

Yellowwood

American Yellowwood

Zelkova

Japanese Zelkova