northern bayberry

In Polly’s Garden: The Multi-Tasking Northern Bayberry

Tim Boland |

My Vineyard hikes take me to many beautiful sites. I enjoy seeing the diversity of landscapes, many influenced by their agricultural past. A frequent plant I encounter in abandoned farm fields is northern bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica, now Morella pensylvanica). Quick to reclaim open pastureland, the shrubs have the unique ability to fix their own atmospheric nitrogen through specialized structures called root nodules. The nodules contain the nitrogen-fixing bacteria Frankia. This mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship allows bayberry to grow in soils with low fertility.

In Polly's Garden
 

 

 
mountain camelia

In Polly's Garden: Sowing Lasting Seeds at Polly Hill

Tim Boland

Polly Hill was well known for her love of stewartia trees. They are greatly admired by our visitors and represent years of hard work. Through Polly’s efforts and our continued devotion to these trees, we now have a recognized national collection. What does that mean exactly? The primary objective for the development of a national collection is to assemble the most comprehensive collection of plants within a particular genus.

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