City of Greenville, South Carolina Arboretum

A diverse collection of primarily native trees and plants is found in the arboretum, such as southern catalpa, Osage orange, bald cypress, American hemlock, pawpaw and large tulip trees in McPherson, Cleveland and Hessie Morrah Parks. There are iconic trees like the Greenville ”Root Tree” which is an American Beech tree found in Falls Park, a large live oak covering a tenth of an acre in Holmes Park and the large oak canopy on Main Street. Newer trees that have a storied past include an Olympic oak, which was propagated from the cutting of an English oak given by Hitler to the gold medalists in the 1936 Olympics.

To protect and enhance the natural environment and aesthetic beauty of our community, the City of Greenville is actively working to preserve existing trees and promote tree planting efforts citywide. An ongoing public awareness campaign – including tree giveaway events – encourages city residents to plant trees on private property. The publicly accessible tree tour educates residents on the locations of full-grown versions of trees provided at tree giveaway events and helps them make better decisions on the selection and placement of the trees. Accreditation for arboretums is crucial as it ensures adherence to high standards of plant care, conservation practices and educational outreach, which supports the City of Greenville initiatives.

The arboretum is open to the public free of charge during posted hours, specifically for park areas.