An arboretum is a collection of trees. It differs from a wood and a forest in that the prime aim is to collect and display a wide range of tree species.
One might expect the result of this idea to be no more beautiful than a collection of stamps or butterflies - and one would be regrettably close to the truth.
But the designers of some arboretums (purists may prefer the spelling 'arboreta') have decided to arrange the species naturalistic groups. This idea can be traced to John Claudius Loudon's invention of the Gardenesque Style of garden design. Loudon wrote a multi-volume Arboretum et Fruticum Brittanicum with drawings and botanical information on the tree species which could be grown in the British Isles. Kew Gardens was the logical consequence of his work.
Los Angeles Arboretum
