Pinus wallichiana Bhutan Pine, Himalayan White Pine. A distinctive five-needled pine with long, drooping needles. Needs to be out of windy sites to be shown to best effect. Nathaniel Wallich (1786-1854) was a Danish surgeon and botanist who worked in India for the Danish East India Company and later for the British East India [...]

Quercus sadleriana Sadler’s Oak. This is a small, shrubby evergreen oak found in the Siskiyou Mts. of southern Oregon and northern California. Named after British botanist John Sadler (1837-1882), Assistant Secretary of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh.

Rhododendron williamsiana A dwarf species that has been hybridized numerous times to pass on its overall small size and hardiness. Light pink blooms add to its charm. Introduced in 1908 by the famous plant explorer Ernest ‘Chinese’ Wilson who found it growing in Sichuan, China. Named in honor of the plant breeder J.C. Williams [...]

Mahonia piperiana ‘Piper’s Oregon grape’ is found in southern Oregon and northern California. Hummingbirds visit the abundant fragrant yellow blossoms which are best produced in a sunny environment. Charles Vancouver Piper (1867-1926) was born in Victoria, B.C. but spent his youth in Seattle, then a territory, and graduated from the UW in 1885. He [...]

Rhododendron schlippenbachii An early light pink blooming mid-sized deciduous rhododendron that is super hardy coming from Siberia, Manchuria, and Korea. Baron Alexander von Schlippenbach collected plants in Korea during an 1853-54 Russian naval expedition.

Rhododendron augustinii An early purple flowering rhododendron of slender shape to 6’. Named after the British-born Irish plantsman and Chinese plant explorer Augustine Henry (1857-1930). He sent back over 15,000 dry plant specimens and seeds; of the 12 plants named in his honor, the KBG garden has this example and one more. It does [...]