Coker Arboretum

In 1903, Dr. William Chambers Coker, the university's first professor of botany, began developing a five-acre boggy pasture into an outdoor university classroom for the study of trees, shrubs, and vines native to North Carolina. Beginning in the 1920s and continuing through the 1940s, Dr. Coker added many East Asian trees and shrubs. These species, closely related counterparts to many North Carolina native plants, enhanced the beauty and educational value of the Arboretum. Examples of conifers and extensive displays of daffodils and daylilies are located here as well. The garden now contains more than 500 species of trees, plants and shrubs. A favorite feature is the 300-foot wisteria arbor. Now part of the North Carolina Botanical Garden, the arboretum is a peaceful place to study, meditate, picnic or relax between classes.