South Carolina's 2017 Arbor Day will be Friday, Dec. 1, and Lander University will once again celebrate the day with a special ceremony and tree-planting on the campus grounds.
The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. near the plaza fountain by the Larry A. Jackson Library. Guest speakers will include Anne Hancock, president of the Greenwood Council of Garden Clubs; JoAnn Purkerson, Arbor Day chair and Lander University Arboretum Committee member; and Dr. Andrew Schwendemann, president of the Arboretum Committee and assistant professor of biology.
A Katsura Claim Jumper (scientific name: Cercidiphyllum japonicum) will be planted in honor of the state's Arbor Day, which is celebrated each year on the first Friday in December.
The tree - a beautiful, gold-leaf form of the Japanese Katsura tree - is fast-growing and can reach heights of 20-30 feet. The foliage has a distinctive, sweet fragrance often compared to burnt sugar or cotton candy.
The ceremony is open to the public.