Campus craze.

Students at Minnesota's Winona State University need to be on their toes about the trees that grace their Winona campus. At least when senior groundskeeper and horticulturist--and now published author--Bill Meyer is around.

Spend time with Meyer at the university in Winona, and you'll soon be repeatedly quizzed about the 93 tree species that grace the university's main campus. For example, what deciduous conifer that harkens back to when dinosaurs roamed the earth and at one time was believed extinct was "discovered" in remote China in the 1940s? (See end for answer.)

Meyer's obsession blossomed into a 96-page book, The Trees of Winona State University, which features charming photos of blooming trees, leaves, fruit, and bark and intriguing information on campus trees.

"A tree is really beautiful," says Meyer, who co-authored the 2004 book with Tom Grier, WSU public information officer. "You see beauty in the spring with the flowers. You see beauty in the summer with the leaves and shade they provide. And in the fall you see the beautiful fall colors."

A meticulous university caretaker for 18 years, Meyer also admires trees' longevity. "They have this timelessness about them," he says.

Several years ago Meyer and WSU President Darrell Krueger were admiring a majestic Homestead elm. Meyer observed that the campus featured nearly all the 46 species considered native to Minnesota, whereupon Krueger enthusiastically asked him to finish the task.

After Meyer fashioned a map/field guide for all campus trees, Krueger encouraged Meyer and Grier to produce a book.

Meyer's passion transformed Grier into a full-fledged tree nerd, and their spouses occasionally shush them as they spout tree facts and figures. "My wife has said, 'Enough already,'" chuckles Grier.

Meyer delights in sharing sometimes-obscure factoids with the 10 or so student workers who help with groundskeeping. One of Meyer's favorite facts: In early American history, the ash was believed to have special powers to ward off sickness and evil spirits.

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As Meyer, 58, nears retirement, he imagines canopies of flourishing trees decorating a gorgeous campus 15 years from now and beyond. "I think of that," he says, "and how fortunate I've been to be part of a legacy of all these beautiful trees on campus."

And the answer to Meyer's question above? The prehistoric tree that graces Winona State University's campus is the dawn redwood.