Desert City

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Desert City
Ejemplares de Echinocactus grusonii en Desert City.jpg
Spain Madrid relief map.png
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Relief Map of Spain.png
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Type Botanical garden
Location San Sebastián de los Reyes, Community of Madrid Spain.
Nearest town Fuente del Fresno  [ es ], Madrid
Coordinates 40°35′56″N3°34′56.6″W / 40.59889°N 3.582389°W / 40.59889; -3.582389
Area16,000 metres (52,000 ft) nursery and 6,000 metres (20,000 ft) botanical garden
CreatedApril 28, 2017
Owned byprivate
Operated byprivate
StatusOpen all year
Website desertcity.es

Desert City is a plant nursery and botanical garden in San Sebastián de los Reyes, near Madrid, Spain, that cultivates and sells xerophytic plants, including cacti, succulents and native plants from the Mediterranean region. [1] It is Europe's largest cactus garden. [2] [3] Desert City was founded by Jacobo García-Germán, an architect, and Mercedes García, a former pharmaceuticals executive. [4]

Contents

Plant Nursery

The biotechnological nursery specializes in xeriscaping [5] and research and cultivation of cacti and other xerophytic plants.

Botanical Garden

DesertCity.jpg

The garden has a size of 6,000 square metres (65,000 sq ft) and combines plants of the natural landscapes of the arid and semi-arid areas of the planet (such as cacti), with native plants from the Mediterranean climate, like lavender, rosemary and others. Its collection includes over 600 species, ranging in size from plants such as the Blossfeldia liliputana (12–16 millimetres (0.47–0.63 in) high) to the Saguaro (50 feet (15 m) high). [6]

The garden is divided into 5 main thematic areas: [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cactus</span> Family of mostly succulent plants, adapted to dry environments

A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word cactus derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek word κάκτος (káktos), a name originally used by Theophrastus for a spiny plant whose identity is now not certain. Cacti occur in a wide range of shapes and sizes. They are native to the Americas, ranging from Patagonia in the south to parts of western Canada in the north, with the exception of Rhipsalis baccifera, which is also found in Africa and Sri Lanka. Cacti are adapted to live in very dry environments, including the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth. Because of this, cacti show many adaptations to conserve water. For example, almost all cacti are succulents, meaning they have thickened, fleshy parts adapted to store water. Unlike many other succulents, the stem is the only part of most cacti where this vital process takes place. Most species of cacti have lost true leaves, retaining only spines, which are highly modified leaves. As well as defending against herbivores, spines help prevent water loss by reducing air flow close to the cactus and providing some shade. In the absence of true leaves, cacti's enlarged stems carry out photosynthesis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonoran Desert</span> Desert in Mexico and the United States

The Sonoran Desert is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the Southwestern United States. It is the hottest desert in both Mexico and the United States. It has an area of 260,000 square kilometers (100,000 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barrel cactus</span> Type of cactus

Barrel cacti are various members of the two genera Echinocactus and Ferocactus, endemic to the deserts of Southwestern North America southward to north central Mexico. Some of the largest specimens are found in the Sonoran Desert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desert Botanical Garden</span> Botanical garden in Phoenix, Arizona

Desert Botanical Garden is a 140-acre (57 ha) botanical garden located in Papago Park, at 1201 N. Galvin Parkway in Phoenix, central Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of California, Riverside Botanic Gardens</span>

The University of California, Riverside, Botanic Gardens are 40 acres of botanical gardens containing more than 3,500 plant species from around the world. The Gardens are located in the eastern foothills of the Box Springs Mountain on the University of California, Riverside campus in Riverside, California, US. Over four miles (6 km) of trails wind through many microclimates and hilly terrain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moorten Botanical Garden and Cactarium</span> Botanical garden in Palm Springs, California, US

The Moorten Botanical Garden and Cactarium is a 1 acre (0.40 ha) family-owned botanical garden in Palm Springs, California, specializing in cacti and other desert plants. The gardens lie within Riverside County's Coachella Valley, part of the Colorado Desert ecosystem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of California Botanical Garden</span>

The University of California Botanical Garden is a 34-acre botanical garden located on the University of California, Berkeley campus, in Strawberry Canyon. The garden is in the Berkeley Hills, inside the city boundary of Oakland, with views overlooking the San Francisco Bay. It is one of the most diverse plant collections in the United States, and famous for its large number of rare and endangered species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotusland</span> Non-profit botanical garden in Montecito, California

Ganna Walska Lotusland, also known as Lotusland, is a non-profit botanical garden located in Montecito, near Santa Barbara, California, United States. The garden is the historic estate of Madame Ganna Walska. The County of Santa Barbara restricts visitation via a conditional use permit: Lotusland botanic garden is open to the public by reservation only, with walking tours 1½ to 2 hours long.

<i>Kroenleinia grusonii</i> Species of cactus

Kroenleinia grusonii, popularly known as the golden barrel cactus, golden ball, "mother-in-law's cushion" or "mother-in-law’s chair", is a species of barrel cactus which is endemic to east-central Mexico.

<i>Agave shawii</i> Species of succulent plant from North America

Agave shawii is a species of monocarpic succulent plant in the genus Agave, commonly known as Shaw's agave. It is a rosette-forming plant characterized by glossy, green leaves with toothed margins. After several years of slow growth, the plant puts all of its resources to produce a towering stalk of flowers, and then dies. The death of the flowering rosette is compensated by the growth of numerous clonal pups. This species is segregated into two subspecies, one native to the coast of southwestern California and northwestern Baja California, known commonly as the coast agave, and another native to the Baja California desert, known as the Goldman agave.

<i>Thymus citriodorus</i> Species of flowering plant

Thymus citriodorus, the lemon thyme or citrus thyme, is a lemon-scented evergreen mat-forming perennial plant in the family Lamiaceae. There has been a great amount of confusion over the plant's correct name and origin. Recent DNA analysis suggests that it is not a hybrid or cross, but a distinct species as it was first described in 1811., yet an analysis in a different study clustered Thymus citriodorus together with Thymus vulgaris, which is considered as one of its parent species.

<i>Echinopsis oxygona</i> Species of cactus

Echinopsis oxygona, also known as Eyries cactus, Easter lily cactus or sea-urchin cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae, native to South Brazil, Uruguay and northern Argentina. Its features include many robust spines, spherical shape, and a large flower, with sharply pointed lavender or white petals, and a fine faint scent.

<i>Yucca rostrata</i> Species of flowering plant

Yucca rostrata also called beaked yucca, is a tree-like plant belonging to the genus Yucca. The species is native to Texas, and the Chihuahua and Coahuila regions of Mexico. This species of Yucca occurs in areas that are arid with little annual rainfall.

A xerophyte is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water. Examples of xerophytes include cacti, pineapple and some gymnosperm plants. The morphology and physiology of xerophytes are adapted to conserve water during dry periods. Some species called resurrection plants can survive long periods of extreme dryness or desiccation of their tissues, during which their metabolic activity may effectively shut down. Plants with such morphological and physiological adaptations are said to be xeromorphic. Xerophytes such as cacti are capable of withstanding extended periods of dry conditions as they have deep-spreading roots and capacity to store water. Their waxy, thorny leaves prevent loss of moisture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xeriscaping</span> Water conserving landscaping method

Xeriscaping is the process of landscaping, or gardening, that reduces or eliminates the need for irrigation. It is promoted in regions that do not have accessible, plentiful, or reliable supplies of fresh water and has gained acceptance in other regions as access to irrigation water has become limited, though it is not limited to such climates. Xeriscaping may be an alternative to various types of traditional gardening.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntington Desert Garden</span>

The Huntington Desert Garden is part of The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. The Desert Garden is one of the world's largest and oldest collections of cacti, succulents and other desert plants, collected from throughout the world. It contains plants from extreme environments, many of which were acquired by Henry E. Huntington and William Hertrich in trips taken to several countries in North, Central and South America.

<i>Lophocereus marginatus</i> Species of cactus

Lophocereus marginatus is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae. It is sometimes called Mexican fencepost cactus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cactus garden</span> Garden specializing in cacti and desert plants

A cactarium or cactuario is a garden dedicated to the planting of cacti. While they generally specialize in collecting cacti, they can also include other desert plants such as sabla, agaves or Crassulaceae, although this would better be termed "xeriscaping".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mossèn Costa i Llobera Gardens</span> Botanical garden in the center of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Mossèn Costa i Llobera Gardens is a botanical garden in the center of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is situated at the foot of Montjuïc facing the sea. The park owes its name to the renowned Mallorcan poet Miquel Costa i Llobera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chirau Mita Botanical Garden</span> Botanical garden in Argentina

Chirau Mita is a botanical garden in Argentina, which brings together more than 1,200 species of cacti from all over the world, as well as various genera of trees and species from dry environments, such as aloe vera and the agave.

References

  1. 1 2 Desert City Madrid Destino Cultura Turismo y Negocio S. A.
  2. Teddy Minford New ‘Desert City’ in Madrid Has Over 400 Species of Cactus Fodor's August 8, 2017
  3. Reid, Siobhan (October 27, 2017). "8 Places to Feed Your Cactus Craze". Jetsetter .
  4. Melkon Charchoglyan Prickly clients Monocle. Issue 118. November 2018
  5. Elizabeth Caldwell With xeriscaping, grass needn't always be greener USA Today 2007-07-15.
  6. Maria Cook Spain's Unique 'Desert City' Brings Cacti To Urban Madrid Green Matters. May 24, 2019