In true sense all gardens are not botanical gardens. Botanical gardens are centres for collection of plants in their various stages of living. Gardens existed for growing ornamental plants for aesthetic value, religious and status reasons. The famous “hanging gardens” of Babylon in Mesopotamia is an example. For the purpose of science and education the first garden was maintained by Theophrastus in his public lecture hall at Athens. First modern botanical garden was established by Luca Ghini (1490-1556) a professor of Botany at Pisa, Italy in 1544.
Botanical garden contains special plant collections such as cacti, succulent, green house, shade house, tropical, alpine and exotic plants. Worldwide there are about 1800 botanical gardens and arboreta.
Role of Botanical Garden: Botanical Gardens play the following important roles.
Gardens with aesthetic value which attract Established in 1948
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a large number of visitors. For example, the Great Banyan Tree (Ficus benghalensis) in the Indian Botanical Garden at Kolkata.
Gardens have a wide range of species and supply taxonomic material for botanical research.
Garden is used for self-instruction or demonstration purposes.
It can integrate information of diverse fields like Anatomy, Embryology, Phyto- chemistry, Cytology, Physiology and Ecology.
Act as a conservation centre for diversity, rare and endangered species.
It offers annual list of available species and a free exchange of seeds.
Botanical garden gives information about method of propagation, sale of plant material to the general public.
Royal Botanic garden, Kew- England
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Figure 5.2: Royal Botanic garden, Kew - England
Royal Botanic garden Kew- England is a non- departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It is the largest botanical garden in the world, established in 1760, but officially opened in the year 1841.
Plant collections include Aquatic garden, Arboretum with 14,000 trees, Bonsai collection, Cacti collection and Carnivorous plant collection.
