A Moon Tree is a tree grown from a seed that once orbited the Moon. In 1971, Apollo 14 astronaut Stuart Roosa carried hundreds of seeds into lunar orbit as part of a joint NASA and U.S. Forest Service experiment. After the mission, the Forest Service germinated the seeds. The resulting seedlings, which are referred to as “Moon Trees” were planted across the United States and abroad as living symbols of exploration and scientific progress. One loblolly pine was planted at the White House in 1976, and others went to parks, universities, and even international sites.
Haywood Community College (HCC) in Clyde, North Carolina, is home to one of these historic trees. The HCC Moon Tree is an American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), grown from a seed carried aboard Apollo 14. It was planted in 1976 by horticulture technician Doyle Justice and a group of students. According to HCC, there was no ceremony at the time, but the tree quietly took root near the J.M. West Center and has since become one of the tallest trees on campus.
The sycamore is now over 90 feet tall and healthy, according to NASA’s Moon Tree registry. It’s located along a walking trail on campus. In 2022, Haywood Community College held a formal dedication event and installed a permanent marker beside the tree to share its story. The school confirmed this in their 2022–2023 Annual Report (p. 38): “The Moon Tree was planted from seeds that orbited the moon more than thirty times as part of Apollo 14. The tree was planted on campus by horticulture technician Doyle Justice and his students in 1976.”
In 2023, HCC expanded its trail system with a new outdoor walking area known as Dahlia Ridge Trail. One loop of the trail was named “Moon Tree Way” to highlight the historic sycamore. The trail system is part of the college’s 110-acre arboretum, which is used regularly by students in forestry and environmental science programs.
HCC is now home to two Moon Trees. In 2024, the college received an American sweetgum seedling whose seed orbited the Moon during NASA’s Artemis I mission. The new tree was planted with a formal ceremony in May 2025. “Haywood Community College also received an American Sweetgum moon tree last year. It’s HCC’s second moon tree,” reported AVLtoday.
The Moon Tree is more than a historical artifact. It supports field learning, sparks campus tours, and offers a way to teach science and history together. Other educators with Moon Trees on campus have reported that these trees help connect disciplines. “It’s a talking piece — where did this tree come from?” said one science professor, as quoted in a NASA feature. “It really starts to get conversations going about the solar system, about human spaceflight.”
At Haywood Community College, the Moon Tree reminds students that discovery doesn’t stop once you leave Earth. Sometimes, it takes root right outside the classroom.