Courtyard Garden Franklin Tree Damaged
The Franklin Tree (Franklania altamaha) in the Courtyard Garden has sustained a significant injury Red arrow). Franklin trees occupy a significant niche in the Bartram Arboretum collection. The species was discovered on October 1, 1765 by John Bartram and his son William near the Alatamaha River in Georgia. Bartram named the tree to honor his friend, Benjamin Franklin. Known examples of the species, now extinct in the wild, are all derived from the specimens collected by Bartram and propagated in Bartram’s legendary garden in Philadelphia. A second Franklin tree is the first stop on the Kendal Tree Walk. While more easily seen than the tree in the Courtyard Garden, it is in poor health. Although an attempt to repair the injury to the tree has been made (red arrow) and a barrier has been erected around it, it remains to be seen whether it will survive. Hope lies with the branch below the injury. To read more about the Franklin tree, read Joel T. Fry’s history of what he called a “very curious” shrub.
The cause of the injury has not been determined but it was undoubtedly caused by someone who strayed from the approved walking paths in the Garden.
