No doubt, every tree at the University of Oregon holds a special place in someone’s heart—but for some trees, the relationship is more formally established. When you’re admiring trees on the Eugene campus, keep an eye out for plaques and engraved stones commemorating individuals, graduating classes, and special occasions. “I often remind people, these things are touchstones,” says Becket DeChant, tree arborist with Campus Planning and Facilities Management. “So many of the big life events that happen to young people in their college years—whether it’s graduating, getting a job offer, maybe proposing to somebody—there’s a tree that’s attached to that memory.”

Pyramidal English Oak
Quercus robur 'Pyramidalis'

Not all oaks on the Eugene campus are native species. The eight stately specimens surrounding the Memorial Quadrangle are English oaks, found across most of Europe and Western Asia. Bearing acorns and iconically hard wood, these trees feature prominently in the folklore of European nations, symbolizing strength, perseverance, regeneration, and royalty. The grouping on the quad was planted in memory of Robert Chase Bailey, senior class president of 1939, who drowned in the Millrace.
 

Japanese Cedar
Cryptomeria japonica

In America, these trees are sometimes called “Japanese redwoods” because they can be enormous. However, their genus contains just one species and is only distantly related to our native Sequoia. Endemic to Japan, where it is known as Sugi, the tree long ago was introduced to China and has been cultivated there for more than one thousand years. In its native range, it’s revered for its fragrant, easily worked wood and is often planted around shrines and temples. On the Eugene campus, the Japanese cedar beside the Miller Theatre Complex is our oldest class tree, adopted by the class of 1879.

Yellow Buckeye
Aesculus octandra

The buckeye tree in front of the Lillis Business Complex was gifted to the university by an official of the Buckeye State. Accounts differ as to whether the giver was Ohio’s governor or the university president. The 1958 Rose Bowl pitted our Webfoots against heavily favored Ohio State; UO president O. Meredith Wilson wagered a Douglas fir on the outcome. Oregon lost the game, 10­-7, but Ducks quarterback Jack Crabtree was named MVP—so perhaps the Buckeye bettor also paid up as a token of respect and sportsmanship. On April 14, 1958, the Oregon Daily Emerald ran a front-page photo of Crabtree and coach Len Casanova setting out the then-tiny Midwestern transplant.
 

Oregon White Oak (2024) | kanawi-stik
Quercus garryana

The youngest tree on campus is the same species as the oldest! On the occasion of his May 30 investiture ceremony, John Karl Scholz, the nineteenth president of the university, dedicated this Oregon white oak, newly planted on the Women’s Memorial Quadrangle, as the official tree of his presidency. Just a sapling today, it will in time grow to be as towering and majestic as the storied Condon oak, symbolizing an era of investment and opportunity in higher education.

Main story • Northwest Natives • Distinguished Transplants

Take a Campus Tree Tour! When you’re in Eugene, we invite you to explore the trees that make the University of Oregon special.