Botanical garden

A botanical garden is a territory arranged by an public institution, deprived, or associative (sometimes with mixed management) the purpose of which is the presentation of species and plant varieties.

The many species and varieties of wild and/or horticultural plants present are strictly identified and joined together in collections. They are cultivated and studied to satisfy four main aims: conservation, the scientific research, education and teaching, and tourism.

The botanical gardens propose plants come from the whole world, generally it is the goal which they continue to excite the curiosity of the visitors. Some however are specialized and develop a topic here are examples:

  • the Arboretum, presents collections of Arbre S,

  • the Alpinum, presents the plants of the Alps and more generally of the species of high mountains.

  • the Fruticetum (of Latin frutex, - icis , the shrub) proposes collections of Arbuste S and Arbrisseau.

  • the Cactarium is a specialized garden presenting the colletions of Cactus and more largely the plants which push in the deserts.

  • the Garden ethnobotanic, present of the plants which have a very close relationship to the life of the man.

  • the ecological Garden present of the plant species and studies the relations between them and with their mediums.

example a project of this type is born in France, in Auvergne more precisely where association GARDEN OUT OF GRASS develops the idea of a botanical garden of which the object and to devote itself to the flora auvergnate, presented by natural environments and stages of vegetation

The botanical gardens are often equipped with installations specialized for the conservation of exotic species which are not adapted to a local climate. One finds inter alia:

- The Greenhouse S heats for the tropical plants, greenhouses with dry atmosphere for the fatty plants are equipment which corrects the local climatic factors to recreate another climate.

- The orangery is a place where the Mediterranean plants (generally of large subjects) spend the winter in too cold regions inside relatively high rooms to the shelter of frozen in large vats.

History

The botanical garden was invented with the Renaissance, period of great encyclopedic curiosity, taking the step on the Jardin simple of the Moyen-âge. This last was then directed primarily towards the food and the medicinal use of the plants, but is characterized by the appearance of a classification and a more scientific nomenclature.

The first botanical garden was created under the name of orto botanico with Pisa in 1543. In 1545, Padoue then Florence opens theirs. Quickly, that of Padoue acquires a great fame, undoubtedly because of the university pulpit to which it is attached.

In France, it is in Montpellier, in 1593, qu ' appeared the first botanical garden, the Botanical garden of Montpellier is always managed by the university.

Nowadays, number of Université S still have their own botanical garden allowing the study and research using a great number of plant species. This time seems completed today in France. And already some, for financial reasons or orientations supporting the molecular whole and genetic research, forsake their garden. This situation generates the loss of a historical and scientific knowledge priceless.

See also: Chronology of botany.

Main missions

Conservation

One of the main missions of the botanical garden is the collection and the conservation of the plants, local or exotic. It can also have for mission the protection of species threatened of extinction. It is the case in France of specialized gardens called national botanical academies (CBN), like the Conservatoire botany of Mascarin for example.

Seek

The scientific work carried out in the botanical garden includes the Taxinomie, the study of the Botanique but also the adaptation of exotic species out of their medium of origin. Famous the royal Botanical gardens of Kew, close to London, thus published a scientific newspaper of botanical research as of the end of the 18th century. Often these institutions are also the place where Herbier S. are constituted.

The data collected as well as the studies undertaken on new species can also be used in the Agriculture, industry or the medical research.

It should be noted that aujourd' today some botanical gardens direct their work in the field of the ecology and the study of the relation between the living beings.

Teaching

The botanical garden also has an educational function, initially with the presentation of collection of plants labelled to help with the teaching of the Systématique (the school of botany), then with projects being able to go from the introduction of new plants into a foreign medium to councils, even from the courses of gardening, or the reception of school complexes. Many botanical gardens also propose with the sale plants.

The botanical garden of the university of Colombia-British (UBC) and the Center for Seedling Research of Vancouver as well as the botanical garden of Chicago set up programmes of selection of plants and propose new species on the market.

Education

It is an aspect which the botanical gardens develop today. The protection of the Biodiversity and the transmission of the natural heritage pass obligatorily by education thanks to a sensitizing adapted to all the public ones.

An enormous work remains to be made in education related to nature. The various discussions that each one can have in this field would not be this that with its neighbor allow to realize of the way to be traversed to arrive at an awakening of the population.

It is essential that the botanical gardens become a motive fluid in the diffusion of knowledge related to the plants, in the mediums in which they live and with the landscapes to which they belong.

Tourism

The gardens must be open to a public of all horizons (room, regional and national, to see international).

The Tourisme brings a dimension which generally interests the financeurs and the politicians who are likely to encourage and to give a support for the structure “Botanical garden”. The country holidays or ecotourism nowadays seem better adapted to the botanical gardens which defend an ecological vocation and to the institutions which defend the biodiversity and the financial assets.

The operation of a botanical garden

In the large botanical gardens one observes several branches of industry of importance.

Collections of alive plants

The alive collections represent the first force of a botanical garden. The maintenance of the collections must be irreproachable there, the plants must be presented better manner and answer the general topic developed by the botanical garden.

Each plant must be known by the gardener in charge of the sector where it is. Each one is labelled, and must be followed.

The book of introduction

When a plant enters a Botanical garden it must be clearly identified; it is a priority!

Once identified, the plant is planted in the part of the garden which corresponds to him best, it is labelled and recorded in the book of introduction. As from this moment the follow-up of this one can start until its death; the gardener carefully consigns the various stages there by wishing him long life.

Collections of dried plants or the herbarium

The herbaria are places have are stored dried plants.

That indicates also a collection of plants dried and fixed on sheets of paper joined together in shirts. For the moment the largest herbarium of the world is in France with the national Muséum of natural history of Paris with more than 8 million shares of herbarium.

A share of herbarium it is a dried plant representing a species clearly identified and described in a publication. To be described first is called the standard , it refers for the whole of the plants of the same species.

the herbaria in a botanical garden have a paramount role, they have a scientific role but more especially an absolutely indisputable role of memory. It is him which during the decades will be able to indicate the plants which were one day present in culture in the garden.

All large botanical garden must have its herbarium and must maintain it.

Grainetery

The grainetery of the botanical garden is a fresh place and dryness where the seeds of plant species are stored being or not in the garden. These seeds are firstly collected in nature to make sure of the genetically pure seed lines.

All the large botanical gardens outside will make exits on the ground it is the occasion for them to collect at the season of fructification seeds of the wild species of natural origin. According to the objectives of the garden, these exits relate to the whole of the department or the area where it is. Certain large gardens program missions abroad to satisfy their needs for research.

Of course the gardeners can collect the seeds of the plants which push in the botanical gardens, but it is then necessary to pay attention to pollution due to the hybridizations not controlled between kinds or different species which are côtoient there. In this case the genetic purity is likely not to be respected more, it will then be necessary to indicate this doubt by an inscription “origin garden” on the batch of seeds. True banks of seeds, the graineteries as well as possible preserve the batches of seeds in large cold rooms, even for some of them in freezers.

This role is amplified by the effect of network between the various botanical gardens of the world, which carry out regularly between them the exchange of Graine S.

the harvest of the seeds

With harvest, part of the air stem is taken if possible without conflicting vital with the plant mother. Each harvest must be identified, name of the kind and the species, with notes of it the place and the date of harvest, and the name of the recoltor. Arrived at the grainetery, for each collected species generally begin a drying in paper bags; stored with dryness while waiting for the sorting of seeds After sorting only the seeds removed from any remains of plants or ground are misent in clearly labelled sachets.

The seeds are on standby to leave. The garden reserves the seeds of the species according to its needs, the others will take remote destinations thanks to a system of exchange between the botanical gardens of the whole world.

index SEMINUM

The Séminum Index is a seed catalog to the format 14,6 X 21 cm (A4 folded into 2) that each Botanical garden publishes annually and dispatches for exchanges between more than 800 Gardens throughout the world.

Various components of an index seminum:

  • the complete references of the Botanical garden, name and addresses…
  • a short presentation but complete of the Botanical garden
  • climatology reigning on the Botanical garden
  • Geographical location of the Botanical garden
  • a page of information containing the information useful relating to the operation of the activity grainetery
  • the list of the plants of the localities close for the Botanical garden
  • the list to the exotic plants to the geographical area of the Botanical garden
  • Éventuellement the list of the species available resulting from a culture under tropical greenhouse or other
  • a bibliography of the works referents
  • Can be added the list of the people having worked to the good performance of the grainetery and of the service of the exchanges

The classification of the plant species is made alphabetically in the families then inside the families by name of kind. The seeds collected inside even of the botanical garden must be the subject of a list with share.

IMPORTANT: The origin of the seeds must be specified. Collected in kind or inside the Botanical garden

For the foreign correspondents each part is translated into English.

Consult a very beautiful index, that of the Academy and Botanical garden of Geneva to the address:

http://www.ville-ge.ch/cjb/jardin/catgr/indexsem.html

The collection of seeds

So with the grainetery we store alive seeds, it is to put them in culture and to obtain seedlings which could be observed, compared and identified again. The séminothèque is a seed collection whose germinatif capacity is not the concern. It corresponds to a need for identification and comparison of the seeds for the kinds and species of plants. It shows that even on the level of seeds there exists a very great diversity as well in the forms as in the colors.

The fruit collection

It not gathers seeds but the envelopes which saw them being born, the fruit. This place names Carpothèque. Place where the visitors are invited to discover the exploits of the nature which shows excellence in the diversity of the forms and the colors.

All the botanical gardens do not have the carpotèque one in spite of the teaching interest such collections. They are however easily realizable in particular for the dry fruits of the local plants pushing in the area of each botanical garden.

The national Muséum of natural history has a very beautiful fruit collection come from the whole world.

To which addresses a botanical garden?

Currently one can consider that the success of a botanical garden depends on the public which it receives. The audience must be as large as possible, the garden must give access:

  • Amoureux with nature, which comes with a spirit curious to be held informed

  • Citadins big cities and their suburbs
  • With the public about the area in which it is established
  • Amateurs of walks
  • Enfants of the schools thanks to teaching programs
  • Professionnels which seek a ground of predilection for their studies, their tests…
  • Amateurs of gardens, of gardening
  • Touristes of all seasons
  • Étudiants in biology, life sciences and the ground
  • Artistes having a “Natural” sensitivity
  • Personnes reprocessed eager to look further into their knowledge…
  • Animateurs, educational, formative
  • dependant People (in wheel chair, partially-sighted person…)

See too

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