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The Hortus botanicus of Leiden is the oldest botanical garden of the Netherlands, and one of the oldest in the world. It is located in the southwestern part of the historical centre of the city, between the Academy building and the old Leiden Observatory building.
In 1587 the young University of Leiden asked for permission from the mayor of Leiden to establish a hortus academicus behind the university building, for the benefit of the medical students. The request was granted in 1590, and the famous botanist Carolus Clusius (1526–1609) was appointed as prefect. Clusius arrived in Leiden in 1593. His knowledge, reputation, and international contacts allowed him to set up a very extensive plant collection. Clusius also urged the Dutch East India Company (VOC) to collect plants and (dried) plant specimens in the colonies. The original garden set up by Clusius was small (about 35 by 40 meters), but contained more than 1000 different plants.
The collecting of tropical (from the Indies) and sub-tropical (from the Cape Colony) plants was continued under Clusius' successors. Especially Herman Boerhaave (1668–1738, prefect from 1709 to 1730), contributed greatly to the fame of the Hortus with his efforts to collect new plants and specimens, and with his publications, such as a catalog of the plants then to be found in the Hortus.
Another major contribution to the collections was made by Philipp Franz von Siebold, a German physician who was employed on Deshima (Japan) by the VOC from 1823 until his expulsion by Japan in 1829. During that period he collected many dried and living plants from all over Japan (as well as animals, ethnographical objects, maps, etc.), and sent them to Leiden.
The first greenhouses appeared in the Hortus in the second half of the 17th century, the monumental Orangery was built between 1740 and 1744. From its original plan the Hortus was expanded in 1736 by Adriaan van Royen and Carl Linnaeus, and in 1817 by Theodor Friedrich Ludwig Nees von Esenbeck and Sebald Justinus Brugmans. In 1857, a part was used for building the new Leiden Observatory.
From a historical perspective, the old Tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera) from 1716, Date plum (Diospyros lotus) from 1739, Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) from 1785 and Golden Chain (Laburnum anagyroides) from 1725 to 1818, are worth mentioning.
The greenhouses with Victoria amazonica and other tropical plants, and the large collection of sub-tropical plants in the recently renovated Orangery and the new Winter Garden draw many visitors. The park itself is an oasis inside the old city, with many more interesting plants and trees.
A Japanese garden in honour of Von Siebold opened in 1990. A reconstruction of Clusius' original garden, based on a plant list dating from the end of the 16th century, was opened in 2009.
From a scientific point of view, the Leiden Hortus is known for its collections of Asian Araceae (among which the Giant Arum Amorphophallus titanum ), Hoya , Dischidia , Nepenthes , ferns and one of the biggest collections of Asian orchids in the world.
Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold was a German physician, botanist and traveler. He achieved prominence by his studies of Japanese flora and fauna and the introduction of Western medicine in Japan. He was the father of the first female Japanese doctor educated in Western medicine, Kusumoto Ine.
A botanical garden or botanic garden is a garden dedicated to the collection, cultivation, preservation and display of a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names. It may contain specialist plant collections such as cacti and other succulent plants, herb gardens, plants from particular parts of the world, and so on; there may be greenhouses, shadehouses, again with special collections such as tropical plants, alpine plants, or other exotic plants. Visitor services at a botanical garden might include tours, educational displays, art exhibitions, book rooms, open-air theatrical and musical performances, and other entertainment.
Leiden University is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a reward to the city of Leiden for its defense against Spanish attacks during the Eighty Years' War, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the Netherlands, as well as one of the most reputed.
Hortus Botanicus is a botanical garden in the Plantage district of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is one of the world's oldest botanical gardens.
Charles de l'Écluse,L'Escluse, or Carolus Clusius, seigneur de Watènes, was an Artois doctor and pioneering botanist, perhaps the most influential of all 16th-century scientific horticulturists.
The Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna is a botanical garden in Vienna, Austria. It covers 8 hectares and is immediately adjacent to the Belvedere gardens. It is a part of the University of Vienna.
The Botanical Garden of the University of Coimbra is a botanical garden in Coimbra, Portugal.
Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt was a Prussian-born Dutch botanist. He is considered to be the founding father of Bogor Botanical Garden in Indonesia.
The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Scampstoniensis', the Scampston Elm or Scampston Weeping Elm, is said to have come from Scampston Hall, Yorkshire, England, before 1810. Loudon opined that a tree of the same name at the Royal Horticultural Society's Garden in 1834, 18 feet (5.5 m) high at 8 years old "differed little from the species". Henry described the tree, from a specimen growing in Victoria Park, Bath, as "a weeping form of U. nitens" [:Ulmus minor ]; however Green considered it "probably a form of Ulmus × hollandica". Writing in 1831, Loudon said that the tree was supposed to have originated in America. U. minor is not, however, an American species, so if the tree was brought from America, it must originally have been taken there from Europe. There was an 'American Plantation' at Scampston, which may be related to this supposition. A number of old specimens of 'Scampstoniensis' in this plantation were blown down in a great gale of October 1881; younger specimens were still present at Scampston in 1911.
Fauna Japonica is a series of monographs on the zoology of Japan. It was the first book written in a European language (French) on the Japanese fauna, and published serially in five volumes between 1833 and 1850.
The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Torino is a botanical garden and arboretum operated by the Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale of the University of Turin. It is located in the Parco del Valentino along the Po River, at Viale Pier Andrea Mattioli, Turin, Italy, and open weekends and holidays during the warmer months; an admission fee is charged.
The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Catania, also known as the Hortus Botanicus Catinensis, is a botanical garden in Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. It is operated by the University of Catania botany department. This institution is a member of BGCI, with international identification code CAT.
The Utrecht University Botanic Gardens have consisted of two locations since 1987: the main Botanical Garden Fort Hoofddijk (52.0883°N 5.1725°E) in Uithof, Utrecht, and the Von Gimborn Arboretum (52.0325°N 5.3093°E) in nearby Doorn. Both locations are open to the public.
The jardin des plantes de Montpellier is a historic botanical garden and arboretum located on Boulevard Henri IV, Montpellier, Hérault, Languedoc-Roussillon, France. It is maintained by the Université Montpellier 1 and open afternoons daily except Monday; admission is free.
The Botanischer Garten der Universität Würzburg is a botanical garden maintained by the University of Würzburg. It is located at Julius-von-Sachs-Platz 4, Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany, and open daily; admission is free.
The Old Botanical Garden of Göttingen University, with an area of 4.5 hectares, is an historic botanical garden maintained by the University of Göttingen. It is located in the Altstadt at Untere Karspüle 1, adjacent to the city wall, Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany, and open daily.
The Botanischer Garten Jena is the second oldest botanical garden in Germany, maintained by the University of Jena and located at Fürstengraben 26, Jena, Thuringia, Germany. It is open daily; an admission fee is charged.
The Botanische Garten der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg is an arboretum and botanical garden maintained by the University of Halle-Wittenberg. It is located at Am Kirchtor 3 in the city of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, and open daily in the warmer months. An admission fee is charged.
The Botanical Garden St. Gallen is located in Stephanshornstrasse 4, Neudorf, St. Gallen. It features 8000 labeled plants from all over the world in its open-air displays and several greenhouses. The park and the greenhouses are accessible free of charge during opening hours.
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Coordinates: 52°09′22″N4°29′03″E / 52.15611°N 4.48417°E
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