Roland Maurice Jefferson Collection

Roland Maurice Jefferson (b. 1923) was born in Washington, D.C., on September 3, 1923. He earned a bachelor's degree in botany from Howard University in 1950 and started labeling plants at the United States National Arboretum (USNA) in 1956. The next year, Jefferson was promoted to become the first African-American botanist at the USNA. Over the next decade he studied crabapples.

In 1973, Jefferson started compiling historical and scientific data about the Japanese cherry trees planted in Washington, D.C.'s Potomac Park, which included taking cuttings from the surviving trees. In 1977, he published The Japanese flowering cherry trees of Washington, D.C., which was later translated into Japanese. In 1978 and 1979, he was part of a plant expedition in Europe to study cherry and crabapple trees. In 1981, Nancy Reagan presented the President Reagan Cherry Tree to Japan, which Jefferson propagated from the 1912 cherry tree that First Lady Helen Taft planted after receiving it as a gift from Japan to the United States.

From 1981 to 1983, Jefferson lived in Japan to study, lecture, and collect ornamental cherry tree budwood. He operated the dogwood seed exchange program from 1982 to 1983, in which Japanese school children collected cherry seeds to exchange for American dogwood seeds. In 1983, he married Keiko Ishisaki. In 1986, Jefferson led expeditions into Japan, Korea, and Taiwan to study cherry trees. He retired from the USNA in 1987, but continued to lecture on cherry trees in Japan through 1998.

Timeline:

September 3, 1923: Born in Washington, D.C., to Edward Wilson Jefferson and Bernice Cornelia Bond

1946-1950: Attended college under the G.I. Bill of Rights (World War II veteran)

1950: Earned a bachelor of science in botany from Howard University

1956: Began working at the United States National Arboretum making plant labels

1956-1980: In charge of the plant records at the United States National Arboretum

1957: Promoted to botanist at the United States National Arboretum

1960s: Studied crabapples at the United States National Arboretum

1970: Published "History, Progeny, and Locations of Crabapples of Document Authenticate Origin" National Arboretum Contribution no. 2

1973: Began compiling historical and scientific data about the Japanese cherry trees planted in Washington D.C.'s Potomac Park

1976-1979: Took cuttings from the existing cherry trees from the Japanese gift of 1912

1977: Published "The Japanese flowering cherry trees of Washington, D.C." National Arboretum Contribution no. 4

1978-1979: Went on a plant expedition in Holland, England, and Germany to study cherry and crabapple trees

1981: Nancy Reagan presented the President Reagan Cherry Tree to Japan with Roland Maurice Jefferson. Jefferson propagated the tree from a cutting of the 1912 Japanese cherry tree that First Lady Taft planted.

1981: Traveled to Japan at expense of Adachi ward government to study cherry trees and lecture about these trees

1982-1983: Located, evaluated, and collected budwood from 174 ornamental cherry trees in Japan

1982-1983: Began the dogwood seed exchange program: Japanese school children collected over half a million cherry seeds in exchange for American dogwood seeds

1984: Visited the Normandale Japanese Garden at Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minnesota and sent 50 cherry seedlings from the United States National Arboretum, which came from Hokkaido, Japan

1986: Led expeditions into Japan, Korea, and Taiwan

1987: Retired from the United States National Arboretum

1989-1998: Lectured on cherry trees in Japan