Collections & Conservation
The Donald E. Davis Arboretum showcases the native plants and natural communities of Alabama and the southeastern United States through living collections, habitat displays and conservation-focused plantings.
Designed to reflect the ecological diversity of Alabama, the Arboretum gives visitors a way to move through representative plant communities from across the state, from rocky uplands and glades north of the Fall Line to coastal plain bogs, longleaf pine habitats and prairie communities farther south.
The Davis Arboretum is organized, in part, to reflect Alabama’s remarkable range of native plant communities. As visitors move through the grounds, they encounter plantings inspired by different regions of the state, including upland forests, sandstone outcrops, limestone glades, mountain bogs, coastal plain wetlands, longleaf pine communities, dunes and prairies.
One important dividing line is Alabama’s Fall Line, a transition zone that separates the older, rockier uplands of north and central Alabama from the flatter coastal plain to the south. This shift in geology, soils and topography helps shape where different plant communities occur.
Rather than presenting plants as isolated specimens, the Arboretum uses these habitat displays to show how native plants are connected to place.
North of the Fall Line, Alabama’s plant communities are shaped by uplands, rock outcrops, glades, mountain slopes and specialized soils. These habitats support plants adapted to exposed stone, shallow soils, seepage areas and other distinctive conditions.
Featured habitat displays include:
Sandstone outcrops
The Arboretum’s sandstone outcrop display includes plants associated with moist woodlands and exposed rock habitats, including iris, ferns, phlox, violets and spiderworts. These communities also provide habitat for specialized species such as Boynton oak, a rare dwarf oak associated with sandstone mountain habitats in Alabama.
Ketona glades and limestone outcrops
Ketona glades are known for extraordinary plant diversity and highly specialized species. Their unusual dolomitic limestone soils have helped create localized habitats that support rare and endemic plants, including species federally listed as endangered or threatened.
Mountain bogs
Mountain bog displays highlight wetland habitats and rare plants of northeastern Alabama, including green pitcher plant, a federally endangered species. The Arboretum’s conservation work includes safeguarding, propagation and landowner collaboration related to this species.
Montane longleaf pine
Longleaf pine is Alabama’s state tree. Although often associated with the Coastal Plain, it also occurs in mountain habitats in Alabama and northwest Georgia, creating fire-tolerant ecosystems distinct from longleaf pine communities farther south.
South of the Fall Line, Alabama’s plant communities are shaped by the East Gulf Coastal Plain, the state’s largest physiographic region. These landscapes are generally flatter and less rocky than regions to the north and include sandy soils, wetlands, bogs, coastal habitats and prairie systems.
Featured habitat displays include:
Coastal pitcher plant bog
Pitcher plants, sundews, butterworts, bladderworts and Venus flytraps represent carnivorous plants adapted to wet, sandy, nutrient-poor habitats. The southeastern United States is especially rich in carnivorous plant diversity, with many genera sharing specialized bog habitats.
Longleaf pines
Longleaf pine once dominated much of the Coastal Plain from Texas to Virginia, but less than 3% of its original habitat remains. Fire suppression and land-use change have altered these ecosystems, which support grasses, dwarf oaks, blueberries and many other native plants.
Coastal dunes
Coastal dune displays represent vegetated sand ridges shaped by wind and waves along the Gulf Coast. Plants such as sea oats help trap and stabilize sand, allowing dunes to grow and protect inland areas from wave damage, saltwater intrusion and strong winds.
Maritime hammock
Maritime hammocks form on stable inland dunes where trees can grow despite salt spray, wind and fast-draining soils. These habitats include oaks and other species adapted to sandy coastal microhabitats.
Black Belt prairies
Black Belt prairies occur on dark, alkaline soils formed from Selma chalk and stretch across central Alabama. These prairie habitats are unlike other Alabama plant communities and support distinctive wildflowers and grasses.
Alabama Biodiversity
Oaks
Oaks are among the dominant trees in many Alabama forests and landscapes. All oaks belong to the genus Quercus and produce acorns, but they vary widely in size, form, leaf shape, growth habit and ecological role.
At the Arboretum, the oak collection highlights the diversity of Alabama’s native trees, from large canopy species to smaller species adapted to specific habitats. Oaks also provide important food and habitat for wildlife, making them a central part of southeastern ecosystems.
Native Azaleas
The Arboretum’s azalea collection focuses on native deciduous azaleas rather than the common, non-native evergreen azaleas often seen in landscapes. The southeastern United States is home to remarkable deciduous azalea diversity, and the Arboretum displays species native to the region, natural variation within those species and naturally occurring hybrids.
The collection includes more than 1,000 individual specimens from the genus Rhododendron, including native deciduous azaleas, native evergreen rhododendrons and other related species. It also includes intentional hybrids developed by Auburn gardeners and horticultural leaders.
The Auburn Azalea Series grew out of decades of breeding, trialing and selection through Auburn University’s Davis Arboretum. The first generation of plants was hybridized in the 1980s, followed by additional generations of crosses and selections designed to combine the hardiness and long bloom season of native azaleas with showy, garden-worthy flowers. The series includes Auburn-named selections such as ‘Aubie,’ ‘Tiger,’ ‘War Eagle,’ ‘Plainsman’ and ‘Samford Sorbet,’ connecting the Arboretum’s plant conservation work with Auburn’s campus identity and horticultural heritage.
Pitcher Plants
Alabama is a center of diversity for North America’s pitcher plants, a group of carnivorous plants known for their distinctive forms and specialized habitats. Many pitcher plant populations have declined because of habitat loss, changes to longleaf pine ecosystems and the removal of fire from their native range.
The Arboretum is actively involved in conserving Alabama’s federally endangered pitcher plant species and displays native southeastern pitcher plants in the bog complex around the outdoor classroom.
The Web of Life
The Arboretum is more than a plant collection. Its native plantings support birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, fish, invertebrates, fungi and other organisms that live in or visit the grounds.
These records help show how native plants support broader ecological communities and give visitors, students and researchers a more complete picture of biodiversity in the Arboretum.
