This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)

The Experimental Arboretums of Vallombrosa were born in 1870, after the creation of several adjacent sections by botanists and forestry scholars; the wooded area has now reached the remarkable size of about 25 acres.

The arboretums are named after the protagonists of the various collections (Tozzi, Paveri, Perona, Allegri) and are identified by different botanical features, even if they all house plants of remarkable majesty and monumentality such as: one Calocedrus decurrens (circumference 24.6 ft), one Thuja plicata (circumference 20 ft), two specimens of Pseudotsuga menziesii of considerable size (circumference 15.41 and 17 ft), two specimens of Sequoia sempervirens (circumference 13.45 ft), and one Sequoiadendron giganteum (circumference 23.62 ft), as well as the monumental stem of a Pinus lambertiana (circumference of 19 ft and height exceeding 131 ft) which produces cones that can reach a length of 19.7 inches. Among the plants, there is also a Betula ermanii, with its typical bark splitted in horizontal plates, and a Metasequoia glyptostroboides, a real living fossil.

Inside the arboretum, there is also a Dendrological Museum which exhibits woods, seeds, and portions of plants, while offering a precious collection of local woo specimens stored in liquid or desiccated.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)