Fall Foliage Pull-Out Guide by Curtis Adams, Curatorial Associate
Fall Foliage Pull-Out Guide by Curtis Adams, Curatorial Associate
As fall is getting underway here are some of the plants that should not be missed. Some of these you can’ t miss, others you will need to look at more closely to appreciate.
We hope you schedule a special visit this fall to bask in the glorious colors of our landscape. Cut out this page and use it as a reference when you visit, and to further your Mount Auburn fall foliage experience, purchase a Tree Map and Fall Foliage Brochure at our Visitors Center!
There are over 400 sugar maples, Acer saccharum, on the grounds of Mount Auburn Cemetery. These are the quintessential fall foliage trees in New England, their color developing throughout the season from green into shades of orange and red.
Two deciduous trees that show off their bark in the fall and winter are the Japanese stewartia, Stewartia pseudocamellia( shown), and the paperbark maple, Acer griseum. One of the finest stewartias can be found in the Dell area along Iris Path. There are a number of paperbark maples on the grounds. The one at Story Road and Redbud Path is a particularly large specimen.
The katsura tree, Cercidiphyllum japonicum, has beautiful gold and green fall foliage, but the real fall highlight is the cotton candy scent produced by this tree. It can be subtle, but once you detect it, it’ s hard to forget. There is an excellent example of this tree along the southwest bank of Auburn Lake and several more along Lime Ave.
The dawn redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, is a deciduous conifer from China. Its needles turn golden yellow before dropping off from late October into December. There are a number of these trees scattered around the grounds, but those along the northern bank of Auburn Lake and around Willow Pond are particularly striking when reflected in the water.
Korean mountain ash, Sorbus alnifolia, has bright red berries at the beginning of fall and then, halfway through the season, the foliage turns an intense orangey-yellow almost overnight. One example of this tree can be found on the east side of Willow Court Crypts.
Fothergilla, Fothergilla gardenii and F. major, has intense orange fall foliage, with some leaves turning deeper shades of red and purple. These plants are scattered around the Cemetery grounds; there are a number of these to be found in Asa Gray Garden and along the east side of Central Ave, near Indian Ridge Path.
Another tree that features intense reds and oranges is the sourwood, Oxydendrum arboreum. Here the feathery clusters of cream-colored flowers first turn a golden brown and then the leaves begin changing, first to orange and finally ending up as a deep plum-red. An excellent example of this tree can be found behind the Shaw memorial near Bigelow Chapel.
The latest blooming shrub at Mount Auburn is the common witchhazel, Hamamelis virginiana, whose yellow, spidery flowers are opening while its leaves are beginning to fall in late October to mid-November. These flowers have the faint scent of witch hazel extract, which is distilled from its bark and twigs. This plant can be found along the hill between Oak and Rosebay Avenues at the south end of Auburn Lake.
10 | Sweet Auburn
Beautyberry, Callicarpa dichotoma, has clusters of shiny purple berries that really stand out after the leaves drop in mid- November. One easily accessible shrub is on the slope to the east of Halcyon Ave.
Sassafras, Sassafras albidum, is a mediumsized tree native to eastern North America. Its roots and root bark have been used in perfumes and to flavor root beer. The tree grows mostly upright with leaves in cloudlike layers. In mid-fall the foliage takes on a range of rich shades from yellow to mauve. Two mature specimens can be found at the south end of Auburn lake, near Larch Ave.
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