YELLOWSTONE ARBORETUM
" Stewards of the Natural Environment "
Billings, Montana @ ZooMontana
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Arboretums and Tree Conservation
Arboretums are vital institutions in the fight to preserve global biodiversity. By employing a range of conservation strategies, from ex-situ and in-situ conservation to genetic research and public education, arboretums safeguard plant diversity for future generations.
Just like Zoos that utilize conservation measures to protect animal species, arboretums do the same for tree and shrub species. One of the goals of the Yellowstone Arboretum is the conservation of two rare Spruce species located behind the European Larch tree in front of you, the Koyami Spruce and the Serbian Spruce.
Picea koyamae (Koyama's spruce; Japanese on right) is a rare spruce, endemic to the Akaishi Mountains and Yatsugatake Mountains in central Honshu, Japan. It grows in small isolated stands in a limited area and the total area of occupation is less than 39 sq. mi. Trees that are lost to typhoons are normally replaced with other faster-growing species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the tree as being "critically endangered". Some trees are in cultivation for their ornamentality.
Picea omorika (Serbian Spruce on left) is a tall and slender,tree with graceful upswept branches, the Serbian spruce is an elegant evergreen tree as a specimen in the landscape. It has glossy, dark green needles with slender streaks of white, and distinctive purple cones. It is a threatened species in its native Serbia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, where it has only a few patches of habitat left mainly located in hard to reach areas of the the Drina River valley. It has been designated as an "endangered" species but it is being tested for cultivation.
