The arboretum covers 47,031 m², and contains about 350 species (500 varieties) of woody plants and flowers, with excellent collections of Camellia japonica (130 varieties), Camellia sasanqua (30 varieties), and flowering lotus (including 250 varieties of Nelumbo nucifera and Nelumbo lutea).
Approximately meter-deep supports emergent herbaceous perennials, typically in dense, monospecific stands; species include bulrush (Typha latifolia), pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata), American lotus (Nelumbo lutea).
The Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge has its administrative building on Sandbridge Road, and there is a large garden of American Lotus across the street on an inlet of the Currituck Sound's Back Bay.
Nelumbo nucifera | Nelumbo | Nelumbo lutea | Nuphar lutea | Pachystachys lutea | ''Ophrys lutea |