| Durban Botanic Gardens | |
|---|---|
 The new entrance to Durban Botanic Garden | |
 | |
| Type | Botanical |
| Location | Durban, South Africa |
| Coordinates | 29°50′48″S31°00′24″E / 29.84667°S 31.00667°E |
| Area | 15 hectares |
| Opened | 1851 |
| Website | www |
The Durban Botanic Gardens is situated in the city of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is Durban's oldest public institution and Africa's oldest surviving botanical gardens. [1] The gardens cover an area of 15 hectares (37 acres) [2] in a subtropical climate.
The Durban Botanic Gardens was established to participate in the quest of Kew Gardens to establish a series of botanic gardens across the world which would assist in the introduction of economically valuable plants, and to supply plants to Kew that were new to science. [1] The first garden was established in December 1849 by Dr Charles Johnston on the edge of the Berea Ridge next to the Umgeni River (near Quarry Road). [1] However the death of Johnston's wife in 1850 caused him to resign his position overseeing the gardens. [1] A Scot called Mark McKen then took his place and began to establish gardens of plants of economic value such as sugar cane, tea, coffee and pineapples. [1] In 1851 the botanical gardens were relocated closer to town, to its present site. [3] From 1853 to 1860 there were various curators, the most notable of which was Robert Plant, who died of malaria while collecting plants near Lake St. Lucia. [1] McKen then returned in 1860 and was the curator for the next 12 years; until his death in 1872. [1]
A German by the name of William Keit arrived from Glasnevin in Ireland to take over the curatorship of the gardens, but economic depression in Natal, a drought, and the Anglo-Zulu War took its toll. Keit resigned in 1881 to become a nurseryman and was later Durban's first director of parks. [1]
A local farmer and rural trade store owner John Medley Wood who was a self-trained botanist took over the curatorship from 1882 to 1913, and the Durban Botanic Gardens was said to have enjoyed its heyday [1] with support of the governor of the colony of Natal, Sir Henry Bulwer who shared a keen interest in the Gardens. [4] John Medley Wood founded the Natal Government Herbarium in 1882 which was at first a wood and corrugated iron hut in which he organised the storage of over 1,500 plant specimens. [4] He prepared about 13,000 plant specimens, many of which were distributed by exchange, and only about 6,000 of his specimens remain in the collection [4] of today's more than 100,000 specimens - most of which originate in KwaZulu-Natal. [5] John Medley Wood discovered many new species of plants which he sent to Kew Gardens. [6] His most famous discovery was a clump of a large species of cycad in Ongoye Forest in 1895. [7] This cycad was subsequently named in honour of him in 1908 as Wood's Cycad ( Encephalartos woodii ) by the English horticulturalist Henry Sander. [8] Three basal offsets of the cycad were collected by Wood's deputy, James Wylie, in 1903 and planted in the Durban Botanic Gardens, and again in a 1907 expedition, Wylie collected two of the larger stems and brought them to the gardens. [9] Wood's Cycad is now the emblem of the Durban Botanic Gardens, [2] where the original specimens are still growing. [9]
Economic problems exacerbated by the suspension of a government grant in the last years of the Natal Colony caused the collapse of the Durban Agricultural and Horticultural Society, who had owned the Gardens. [4] In 1913, most of the garden was transferred to the Durban Corporation also known as the City of Durban, but about 1 acre (0.40 ha) including the herbarium and Medley Wood's house was excised and transferred to the Union Department of Agriculture, the following year. [4] After Medley's death on 26 August 1915, [6] he was succeeded as curator of the herbarium by P.A. van der Bijl, a noted mycologist. [4] Because of the subsequent political changes with the Union of South Africa, the gardens went into a state of decline, but many of the trees planted by McKen, Keit and Medley Wood are still growing in the Durban Botanical Gardens. [1]
William Keit again took over the gardens on 27 August 1916, [3] about a year after the death of John Medley Wood.
Among later curators was Ernest Thorp (from 1950 to 1975) who oversaw the construction of the orchid house at the Durban Botanic Gardens in 1962. [2] The orchid house was named after him as the Ernest Thorp Orchid House. [2] While Ernest Thorp was the curator, F. W. Thorns was the director. [10] Around 1965 the Durban Botanic Gardens was noted for its collection of Cannas, and Ernest Thorp sent rhizomes of 3 varieties to Longwood Gardens in the United States upon request. [10]
In 1999 the gardens were surveyed and mapped so that the various plants and their relevant information could be traced with the aid of GIS software. [11]
The gardens contain an extensive collection of cycads from South Africa and from other parts of the world. The most notable specimens are those of Wood's Cycad. In 1992 and 1993 the cycads were rearranged to represent their geographic distribution. [12] The species that grow here include: [13]
John Medley Wood was an avid collector of ferns and published A Popular Description of the Natal Ferns in 1877, and The Classification of Ferns in 1879. As of 2010 the Durban Botanic Gardens has a collection of ferns, many of which grow in the section of the gardens called the "Fern Dell". [11] The collection consists of both local and exotic species.
The orchid collection first began in 1931, was moved to the Ernest Thorp Orchid House in 1962, and since 2010 consists of more than 9,000 plants including Cattleya , Phalaenopsis and Vanda , which are put on display in the orchid house when in bloom (mostly in spring and autumn). [2]
Some of the first bromeliads (discounting the pineapples of ~1850) may have been received by Medley at the gardens in 1885. [14] Various species of bromeliads grow in mass plantings in the gardens, and some are placed in the orchid house on display during winter and summer when fewer orchids are in bloom. [2]
There are at least 1,354 individual trees, and about 917 palms growing in the Durban Botanical Gardens. [11]
The grounds currently host various social gatherings such as local music bands and ' Victorian tea parties', as well as an indigenous plant fair in spring (September) each year. The fair is hosted by the Botanical Society of South Africa, and in 2009 and 2010 the Lepidopterists' Society of Africa was involved to promote the growing of indigenous butterfly food plants. [15] The theme of the Fair for 2010 was taken from the UN's International Year of Biodiversity, and more than 750 species of plants indigenous to South Africa were available.
The United States Botanic Garden (USBG) is a botanical garden on the grounds of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., near the James A. Garfield Monument.
Stangeria eriopus is a cycad endemic to southern Africa. It is the sole species in the genus Stangeria, most closely related to the Australian genus Bowenia, with which it forms the family Stangeriaceae.
The Harry P. Leu Gardens are semi-tropical and tropical gardens in Orlando, Florida, United States. The gardens contain nearly 50 acres (200,000 m2) of landscaped grounds and lakes, with trails shaded by 200-year-old oaks and forests of camellias. They are open to the public. The address is 1920 North Forest Avenue, Orlando, FL 32803.
Flamingo Gardens is a 60-acre (24 ha) botanical garden and wildlife sanctuary, located just west of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and north of Miami at 3750 South Flamingo Road, Davie, Florida, United States. It is open to the public for a fee.
Encephalartos is a genus of cycad native to Africa. Several species of Encephalartos are commonly referred to as bread trees, bread palms or kaffir bread, since a bread-like starchy food can be prepared from the centre of the stem. The genus name is derived from the Greek words en (within), kephalē (head), and artos (bread), referring to the use of the pith to make food. They are, in evolutionary terms, some of the most primitive living gymnosperms.
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.
Encephalartos woodii, Wood's cycad, is a rare cycad in the genus Encephalartos, and is endemic to the oNgoye Forest of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is one of the rarest plants in the world, being extinct in the wild with all specimens being clones of the type. The specific and common name both honour John Medley Wood, curator of the Durban Botanic Garden and director of the Natal Government Herbarium of South Africa, who discovered the plant in 1895.
John Medley Wood was a South African botanist who contributed greatly to the knowledge of Natal ferns, is generally credited with the establishment of sugarcane mosaic virus immune Uba sugar cane in Natal and for his extensive collection of Natal plants.
The Volunteer Park Conservatory is a botanical garden, conservatory, and Seattle landmark located in Seattle, Washington at the north end of Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill.
Areas of forest which grow in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa mostly on south facing slopes in higher rainfall areas, and along the humid coastal areas. Different types of forest can be identified by their species composition which depends mostly on the altitude, latitude and substrate in which they grow. South facing slopes are favourable for the development of forest as they are more shaded, and therefore cooler and retain more moisture than the northern slopes. The extra moisture on the south slopes is not only favoured by forest trees, but also helps to prevent or subdue wildfires. Fires can also be blocked by cliff faces and rocks or boulders on these slopes, and by streams or rivers at the base of the slopes. The coastal regions are conducive to forest formation, because of high rainfall and humidity which are favoured by forest trees and also help to prevent or subdue fires. The rivers of the coastal areas are also broader than further inland, which may often prevent fires from spreading long distances, and fires generally burn uphill and therefore more often away from areas at low altitude.
The Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Hotspot (MPA) is a biodiversity hotspot, a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity, in Southern Africa. It is situated near the south-eastern coast of Africa, occupying an area between the Great Escarpment and the Indian Ocean. The area is named after Maputaland, Pondoland and Albany. It stretches from the Albany Centre of Plant Endemism in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, through the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism and KwaZulu-Natal Province, the eastern side of Eswatini and into southern Mozambique and Mpumalanga. The Maputaland Centre of Plant Endemism is contained in northern KwaZulu-Natal and southern Mozambique.
Isoglossa woodii, commonly known as buckweed, is a monocarpic shrub of the family Acanthaceae, growing up to 4 m tall. It grows in colonies in coastal forest areas of KwaZulu-Natal and marginally into Eastern Cape and Free State of South Africa.
Encephalartos altensteinii is a palm-like cycad in the family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to South Africa. The species name altensteinii commemorates Altenstein, a 19th-century German chancellor and patron of science. It is commonly known as the breadtree, broodboom, Eastern Cape giant cycad or uJobane (Zulu). It is listed as vulnerable due to habitat destruction, use for traditional medicine and removal by collectors.
Encephalartos lebomboensis is a species of cycad in the family Zamiaceae. Native to the Lebombo Mountains of South Africa, the species was first described in 1949 by the South African botanist Inez Verdoorn. It is commonly known as the Lebombo cycad, although the name is also used for Encephalartos senticosus which also occurs in the same locality.
Lumnitzera racemosa, commonly known as the white-flowered black mangrove, is a species of mangrove in the family Combretaceae. It is found on the eastern coast of Africa and other places in the western Indo-Pacific region. It has one accepted variety from the noniminate species which is Lumnitzera racemosa var. lutea (Gaudich.) Exell.
Encephalartos senticosus is a species of cycad in the family Zamiaceae native to the Lebombo Mountains of Mozambique, Eswatini (Swaziland), and the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Prior to its description in 1996, Encephalartos senticosus had been confused with the closely related and sympatric Encephalartos lebomboensis. Both species are commonly known as the Lebombo cycad.
Encephalartos natalensis, the Natal cycad or giant cycad, is a species of cycad that is endemic to the Qumbu and Tabankulu areas of the northern part of the Eastern Cape, and through most of KwaZulu-Natal. The number of mature individuals of this species is declining and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being "near threatened".
Millicent Franks was a South African botanical illustrator.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
