The Greeneville campus of Tusculum University is home to the first official arboretum in the Greeneville/Greene County area, after receiving certification for a Level 1 Arboretum from Tennessee Urban Forestry Council.

An arboretum is a garden devoted to trees, and arboreta are classified into four levels by the number of different species featured in the arboretum.

As a Level 1 arboretum, Tusculum University’s arboretum features more than 30 species of trees, most of which are indigenous to the area. Featured will be the historic Tusculum Old Oak tree, which measures 102 feet in height and has a 124-foot average spread. Among the other trees featured are dogwood, pecan, hawthorn, blackgum, maple, beech, sycamore, mulberry and Japanese Zelkova.

The arboretum is being coordinated by the university’s science department and will be used primarily by students of the natural sciences, but will be open to the public and area school programs through a self-guided walking tour.

A map of the arboretum has been developed to indicate the location of each featured tree, and each tree has signage to indicate both the scientific and common name. There are more than 35 existing arboreta in the East Tennessee area, including the Knoxville Botanical Garden and Cherokee Trail in Chattanooga.