BGjournal

Journal of Botanic Gardens Conservation International

Volume 19 • Number 2 • July 2022

UNIVERSITY BOTANIC
GARDENS - CONTRIBUTING
TO PLANT CONSERVATION,
RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
 Volume 19 • Number 2

Editors: EDITORIAL

03 36
Padre Julio Marrero Botanic Garden: a
University botanic gardens university botanic garden in Ecuador
Santiago Bravo-Sánchez et al.
FEATURES

05 39
Education and research at the Ghent
NEWS FROM BGCI University Botanical Garden
Cuttings Chantal Dugardin
Suzanne Sharrock Paul Smith
Director of Global
Programmes
Secretary General 07
PLANT HUNTING TALES
42
A hundred years of nature and history: the
Croton rosarianus: A rare endemic Botanical Garden of the University of San
species in the Puebla Cloud Forest Carlos de Guatemala
Design: John Morgan www.seascapedesign.co.uk Allen J. Coombes et al. Carolina Rosales de Zea
Cover image: The central fountain and Danby
Arch of Oxford Botanic Garden (Oxford Botanic
Garden and Arboretum) 09
FEATURED GARDENS
45
The Botanical Garden of the University of
BGjournal is published by Botanic Gardens
Conservation International (BGCI). It is Britain’s oldest botanic garden in the Leipzig - bringing the global diversity of
published twice a year. Membership is open to
all interested individuals, institutions and 21st century Chris Thorogood plants to Leipzig to explore, communicate
organisations that support the aims of BGCI. and protect them Rolf A. Engelmann et al.
Further details available from: Classic ideas and a modern stage
• Botanic Gardens Conservation International, for Leonid Rubtsov’s Dendrarium CASE STUDIES
Descanso House, 199 Kew Road, Richmond, Olha Pokhylchenko and Yana Bobrova
Surrey TW9 3BW UK.
Tel: +44 (0)20 8332 5953,
E-mail: [email protected], www.bgci.org
17 49
The Botanical Garden of the Adam
• BGCI (US) Inc, The Huntington Library,
Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, INTERVIEW Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland
1151 Oxford Rd, San Marino, CA 91108, USA. Justyna Wiland-Szymańska
Tel: +1 626-405-2100, E-mail: [email protected]
Christopher Dunn
Internet: www.bgci.org/usa
• BGCI (China), C/O South China Botanical
Garden, CAS, 723 Xingke Rd. Guangzhou,
ARTICLES
50
510650, Guangdong, China
Tel: (86)20-85231992,
Email: [email protected]
20
The Botanical Garden of the University of
The Botanic Garden and the University of
Castilla-La Mancha: a fruitful synergic
relationship in the continental
www.bgci.org/china/
• BGCI (Southeast Asia), Greetha Arumugam
Vienna – changes, challenges and success Mediterranean context
BGCI Southeast Asia Botanic Gardens stories Michael Kiehn Guillermo García-Saúco Sánchez et al.
(SEABG)
Network Manager
BGCI Southeast Asia Office
Email: [email protected] 24 52
The Botanical Garden of the Faculty of
• BGCI (Africa), Kirsty Shaw, BGCI Africa Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden –
Office, IUCN Eastern and Southern Africa academia supporting research, education Science of Masaryk University in Brno,
Regional Office (ESARO),
P.O. Box 68200 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya, and conservation outcomes Czech Republic Magdaléna Chytrá
Tel. +254 (0)725295632 Skype: bgci_kirsty, Donovan Kirkwood
Email: [email protected],
Internet: www.bgci.org 53
BGCI is a worldwide membership organisation
established in 1987. Its mission is to mobilise
28
Bonn University Botanic Gardens: A garden
Observatoire du Monde des Plantes, the
botanical garden of Liege’s University
botanic gardens and engage partners in
securing plant diversity for the well-being of dedicated to (much more than) pure botany Sophie Pittoors
people and the planet. BGCI is an independent
Maximilian Weigend and Cornelia Löhne
organisation registered in the United Kingdom
as a charity (Charity Reg No 1098834) and a 55
company limited by guarantee, No 4673175.
BGCI is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit
organisation in the USA and is a registered
33
The Botanical Garden of the City of Plottier
Sofia University botanic gardens – History
and present Desislava Miteva
non-profit organisation in Russia.
Opinions expressed in this publication do not (JBCP), a case of mixed university-municipal
necessarily reflect the views of the Boards or government governance in Argentina
staff of BGCI or of its members.
Hernán Ariel López et al.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 02

EDITORIAL

UNIVERSITY BOTANIC GARDENS are perhaps evidence of a swing back to a

more organismal and people-centred view
of botany and plants in general.

As highlighted in the articles and case

studies from European university botanic
gardens, they are all clearly providing a wide
a collection of about 5,000 species, some of range of services, not only to the universities
which are exceptionally rare or endangered they are associated with, but also to wider
in the wild; others are used in research to society and the international botanic garden
address the world’s big challenges, for community. They are actively engaged in
example those linked to climate change and scientific research, academic and public edu-
nature-inspired technology (biomimetics). cation, conservation, and horticulture.
Moreover, as urban green spaces, these
In this issue, we highlight the work of Uni- gardens are also important places for rec-
versity gardens from Europe, through Africa reation and act as “windows” for the
Summer arch, The University of Oxford to the Americas. While ranging in age from Universities’ public outreach.
Botanic Garden 400 years to less than 2 years, these
gardens all have a common focus on work- The situation is similar in South America,
University botanic gardens are the focus of ing with the students and academic staff of where university botanic gardens in
this issue of BGjournal. It is generally con- their parent institute to promote interest and Argentina, Ecuador and Guatemala are pro-
sidered that the original physic gardens research in plants in all their diversity. viding a focal point for university students
established by many Universities for teach- and teachers across a range of disciplines,
ing medicine during the 16th and 17th Our interviewee, Christopher Dunn explores providing a valued open-air teaching space
Centuries laid the foundation for today’s the relationship between Cornell Botanic and promoting environmental values. As
botanic gardens. The oldest University Garden and Cornell University, highlighting noted by the Botanical Garden of the Uni-
gardens in Europe are those of Pisa and the advantages his garden gains from being versity of San Carlos de Guatemala, which
Padua (Padova) established in Italy in 1544 part of a larger institution. This is not only in celebrates its centenary this year, without a
and 1545 respectively, with the Orto terms of the administrative support the Uni- doubt, the permanence of the Botanical
botanico di Padova still flourishing at the versity provides, but also, through ready Garden has been due to its association with
same site where it was originally founded. access to students and the opportunity to the government University.
France's oldest botanical garden, the Jardin directly influence, in a positive way, the next
des plantes de Montpellier was established generation of engaged young people. Finally, in recognition of the extremely chal-
in 1593 inspired by the Orto botanico di lenging situation facing botanic gardens in
Padova and in turn serving as a model for The possibility to influence future decision- Ukraine at this time, we have included a
the Jardin des Plantes de Paris (1626). In makers is also seen as important by second featured garden in this issue. The
the UK, the oldest botanic garden is that of Stellenbosch University Botanic Garden, the Mykola Hryshko National Botanic Garden of
the University of Oxford, which is celebrating oldest in Africa. Stellenbosch University not the National Academy of Science of Ukraine
its 400th anniversary this year, and is a fea- only teaches future leaders of the region, is one of the gardens receiving support
tured garden in this issue. but it is also the university of choice for many through BGCI’s Disaster Relief Fund. In our
of the farming communities, the landowners, article we highlight the huge importance of
These university gardens have witnessed communities and families who determine this garden to the local community and the
the evolution of botany from a science orig- the fate of much of the remaining threatened on-going efforts to install an irrigation
inally applied to medicine, to an independent habitat of the Cape. If the botanic garden system in its arboretum, which was founded
discipline with various branches. The man- can positively influence their future attitudes by Leonid Rubtsov over 70 years ago. To
date of university gardens has similarly and decision-making related to the find out more about our 2022 Ukraine
expanded and evolved, and these gardens threatened lowland floras, that could have Botanic Garden Appeal, please visit: BGCI’s
now play a central role in plant conservation, tremendous impact. Disaster Recovery Fund | Botanic Gardens
research and education around the world. Conservation International.
This is excellently illustrated by The Univer- While some university gardens have
sity of Oxford Botanic Garden which was struggled to retain their relevance as the We hope you enjoy this issue of BGjournal,
first established as a ‘physicke’ garden for teaching of botany, as well as taxonomic and as always, we welcome your comments
the cultivation of medicinal plants for teach- research, has become more and more of a and suggestions for future issues
ing the University’s medical students. Today, molecular enterprise, others have thrived.
Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum hold The examples and case studies in this issue Suzanne Sharrock

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 03

FEATURES

NEWS FROM BGCI

CUTTINGS

PLANT HUNTING TALES

CROTON ROSARIANUS: A RARE
ENDEMIC SPECIES IN THE PUEBLA
CLOUD FOREST

FEATURED GARDENS
BRITAIN’S OLDEST BOTANIC
GARDEN IN THE 21ST CENTURY

CLASSIC IDEAS AND A MODERN

STAGE FOR LEONID RUBTSOV’S
DENDRARIUM

INTERVIEW
CHRISTOPHER DUNN

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 04

 FEATURE

• Facilitation of public engagement activ- BGCI Partners with the Society for
NEWS FROM BGCI ities at botanic gardens to offer respite Ecological Restoration
and sanctuary;

CUTTINGS • Fostering collaboration among all

botanic gardens in the country.
BGCI has entered a new five year partnership
with the Society for Ecological Restoration
(SER) to promote effective and high quality
Here we present a selection of the most recent Funds raised will be disbursed to Ukrain- biodiversity outcomes from global restoration
news stories form BGCI. Please browse our ian botanic gardens via a central initiatives.
website to keep up-to-date with the latest coordination mechanism in close consul-
news and events from BGCI and the botanic tation with BGCI’s governing body. To ensure high biodiversity outcomes from
garden community: www.bgci.org Updates on how the funds have assisted global restoration efforts, SER will work with
those in need will be shared across BGCI’s BGCI to:
social media channels and website.
BGCI's Disaster Recovery Fund • Promote and develop best practices guiding
To support staff and sustain collections the use of threatened and endangered plant
Disasters strike communities around the at botanic gardens in the Ukraine through species in ecological restoration where
world, and there is a growing realisation and this time of crisis, please visit: SheepApp appropriate;
evidence that their frequency and impact are (sheepcrm.com) • Create policy-position publications on what
becoming more prevalent globally. Botanic constitutes a native species;
gardens have not been spared the calamitous • Develop joint training courses on restoration,
effects of disasters. And botanic garden staff 2022 Botanical Bridges Congress including biodiverse forest restoration;
across the world are risking their health and • Collaboratively promote and apply The
safety to ensure that we do not lose the Global Biodiversity Standard, which pro-
planet’s incredible plant diversity – more than vides assurance that land management
one third of which is held in botanic garden interventions such as tree planting, habitat
collections. restoration and agroforestry practices are
protecting, safeguarding, and restoring
By establishing the Disaster Recovery Fund, We are pleased to announce registration biodiversity, rather than inadvertently caus-
BGCI will be working to support the botanic and call for abstracts are now open for ing harm.
gardens impacted by disasters. the 2022 Botanical Bridges Congress, to
be held in Eleuthera, the Bahamas, from BGCI members are invited to join SER to
As part of the Disaster Recovery Fund, BGCI 14-18 November 2022. further advance knowledge-sharing and net-
has launched the Ukraine Botanic Garden work-building world-wide. For more
Appeal, in collaboration with Partnerships for Botanical Bridges Caribbean and Central information, visit: https://www.ser.org/page/
Nature (Seattle, US) and leading gardens in America 2022 will bring together Membership
Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has had a huge gardens from around the region to
impact on the gardens there, causing short- explore issues and exchange ideas about
ages of staff and funding, loss of plant how botanical gardens play a leading role Threat assessments now available
collections and infrastructure, forced closures in plant conservation and taxonomy, sus- for nearly 80% of tree species
for security reasons, and, in some cases, physi- tainable development goals, and climate
cal harm. change adaptation and mitigation. The latest update of the IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species included 2,437 new tree
The donations will specifically support: The network aims to foster collaboration species assessments. This brings the number
‘bridges’ among botanic gardens, botanic of tree assessment avail-
• Personnel costs; garden enthusiasts, and research centers able on the IUCN
• Collection recovery, maintenance and/or interested in the Caribbean and Central Red List to 37,411
translocation as required; American region. The congress promotes assessments.
the exchange of experiences and inno-
vations in conservation, education and Using information
research to solve common challenges on tree assess-
faced by Caribbean and Central American ments from both the
botanic gardens and associated research IUCN Red List and
institutions. ThreatSearch database, we can account for
assessments of 79% of the world’s tree
To find out more and register for the Con- species. Our analysis also finds that at least
gress, visit: 2022 BOTANICAL BRIDGES 29% of all tree species are threatened with
CONGRESS (botanicalbridges2022.com) extinction globally.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) • 05-06 05

 Following the release of the State of the The webinar includes an introduction to the back from members, the
World’s Trees in September 2021, the Global Climate Toolkit by Phipps President and CEO 2021 Review has 2021 Year
in Review
Tree Assessment is now in it’s second phase, Richard Piacentini, while staff members from a more user-friendly
focusing on publishing assessments from Morton Arboretum and Hillwood Museum news-based format.
Threat Search and the National Red List on and Gardens — two institutions who joined The Review highlights our work to save
the IUCN Red List and updating assessments the Toolkit early in its inception and are heavily plants, inspire people, share knowledge and
for trees published before 2010. involved — talk about their climate change resources, and address global challenges. A
journeys and how collaborative resources like downloadable pdf document provides an
Find out more about progress with the the Toolkit have proven useful to them. overview of BGCI’s key activities and success
Global Tree Assessment here: IUCN 2022 during 2021, with links providing access to
Red List Update | Botanic Gardens Con- Plant Collection databases brought together longer, more detailed articles and additional
servation International (bgci.org) representatives from four of the leading plant information on the BGCI website.
collection database management systems
(BG-BASE, BRAHMS, HORTIS and IRIS BG). To read the review and find out more, visit:
The Global Conservation Gap They introduced their latest database tools, 2021 Year in Review | Botanic Gardens Con-
Analysis of Magnolia described new features, and discussed servation International (bgci.org)
options for gardens. Following the presen-
The recently published
Global Conservation Gap Analysis of
tations on each database, members of the
Magnolia
Global Conservation Gap audience were able to ask questions to the Botanic Garden Accreditation
updated
Jean Linsky, Dan Crowley, Emily Beckman Bruns and Emily E. D. Coffey

Analysis of Magnolia, presenters in order to better understand the

presents an in-depth features and facilities of each system.
review of the vulnerability, BGCI has redefined the targets required to
threats and ex situ and in Recordings of the webinars are available here: achieve Botanic Garden Accreditation and
situ conservation of 336 https://www.bgci.org/our-work/sharing- improved the application and mentorship
Magnolia species. Using knowledge-and-resources/bgci-webinars/ process. A revised version of the BGCI
Global
Conservation

data from global data- Botanic Garden Accreditation Standards has

Consortium
Magnolia

bases such as BGCI’s been produced and a new platform to make

PlantSearch and a survey of the global New BGCI training course: the process of applying easier for gardens
botanic garden and conservation community, Plant collecting policies and for BGCI.
this publication reports, for the first time,
accession-level information on Magnolia BGCI has launched a new training module Find out more: BGCI Updates Botanic
species in ex situ collections and applies con- on Plant Collection Policies. This course pro- Garden Accreditation | Botanic Gardens
servation gap analysis methodologies to vides an introduction to plant collection Conservation International
identify species of conservation concern. Rec- policy for botanic garden professionals.
ommendations on focal species and activities It covers:
are made. This gap analysis also includes 28 BGCI Accreditation
species profiles of selected threatened Mag- • Plant collection policies and purposes
nolia species that summarize in situ and ex • Using the policy to guide collection devel-
situ status and needs. This analysis aims to opment; Accreditation
provide information to organizations working • Plant acquisition and standards of Scheme
on Magnolia conservation by identifying on- information;
going efforts and gaps in action and to guide • Evaluating your collection in line with your The following gardens have achieved
next steps for collaborative conservation of collections policy. botanic garden accreditation since the last
the world’s Magnolia species. issue of BGjournal. Congratulations to all:
This module forms part of the Botanic
Garden Basics training modules and is • Phipps Conservatory and botanical
BGCI webinar series based on BGCI’s Manual on Planning, Devel- Gardens, United States
oping and Managing Botanic Gardens. • The Dawes Arboretum, United States
The Climate Toolkit webinar introduced • Maranoa Botanic Gardens, Australia
participants to the Toolkit, a new resource The course is free to BGCI members and • Minnesota Landscape Arboretum,
and collaborative opportunity for museums, available on our Moodle platform. United States
gardens and zoos who want to learn how • Huntsville Botanical Garden, United
to proactively address climate change States
within their own organizations and inspire BGCI’s 2021 Annual Review • Inala Jurassic Garden, Australia
the communities they serve to follow their • Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, Thailand
lead. To date, 52 institutions serving more BGCI’s new look 2021 Year in Review is now • The Knowledge Garden at the Swedish
than 42,882,000 annual visitors have joined available. Replacing the Member’s Review University of Agricultural Sciences,
the Toolkit. of the previous five years, and following feed- Sweden

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 06

 FEATURE
Authors: Allen J. Coombes, Michelle Xicotencatl-Lozano, Lucio Caamaño Onofre,
Noelia Álvarez de Román, Maricela Rodríguez

Croton rosarianus saplings 60 cm tall with fruit. (Qiliang Gan) Croton rosarianus seeds. Top: eaten by
insect larvae. Middle: an undeveloped
seed. Above: apparently viable seeds.

PLANT HUNTING TALES

CROTON ROSARIANUS: A growing to 8 m tall or more, with bristly

shoots and small, white flowers, the males

RARE ENDEMIC SPECIES IN

and females separate on the same inflores-
cence. On reading the original publication
where it was described, we noticed that only
THE PUEBLA CLOUD FOREST one location was given, La Finca el Rosario
near Cuetzalan, in the cloud forest of NE
Puebla where it grows at about 823 m; this
was obviously a species of potential interest
Introduction looking for local species that we could help to us (Map.1).
conserve, this is one of the publications we
he IUCN Red List of Threatened consulted. However, we also looked at other In order to investigate this little-known tree

T Species (IUCN, 2021) tells us how

rare any particular organism is and
hence can highlight species that need con-
reports that could provide details of species
not yet in the IUCN Red List but that could,
potentially have a very limited distribution.
further, the Puebla University Botanic
Garden (JBU-BUAP) and Botanic Gardens
Conservation International (BGCI) started a
servation action. While many species have three-year project under the Global Trees
been assessed, many have not, and of those One of the species we selected was Croton Campaign initiative to determine its current
that have, relatively few are the subject of rosarianus, a member of the Euphorbiaceae status and produce a recovery plan to guar-
conservation activities. At the Puebla Uni- only described in 2002 but not included in antee the preservation of this unique
versity Botanic Garden, when we were The IUCN Red List. It is an evergreen tree, population.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) • 07-08 07

Map. 1. Croton rosarianus location in Mexico. The point indicates Finca el Rosario in
Atepehua, Cuetzalan municipality, Puebla state, Mexico. Data SIO, NOAA, U.S. Navy,
NGA, GEBCO. Data LDEO-Columbia, NSF, NOAA. Image Landsat/Copernicus

Over the course of 3 years we carried out 7 Vegetative propagation proved more suc-
field trips to record the distribution, to docu- cessful and from 98 semi-ripe cuttings we
ment flowering and fruiting times and to look raised 34 plants. Rooting of these was slow,
for any signs of regeneration. For propagation taking 3 to 5 months and about 6 months
we collected seeds and cuttings. We also to produce healthy plants of 15-20 cm.
searched the literature and herbaria to deter- Warm, shaded and humid conditions were
mine whether other locations were known. found to be essential for rooting. This
Herbarium material collected during the pro- propagation technique has been a big help
ject is deposited at the herbarium of the in the detailed understanding of its flowers.
Puebla University Botanic Garden (HUAP).
Conclusions
Results
Our surveys indicate that this is a very rare Croton rosarianus inflorescences - top;.
From our surveys in the area, it would appear tree that warrants conservation action. It male flower - middle; female flowers and
that this species is, indeed, very rare. The grows in a very small location in a specific insertion of fruit - above.
entire population was found in an area of 71 habitat where it is shaded, warm and
m x 20 m in the Finca el Rosario and no other humid. Our initial results show that very Acknowledgements
records were found either in the field or in our often, little viable seed is produced. These
literature and herbarium surveys. 120 plants factors seem to be the main threats to its The authors would like to thank Mr. Jose Luis
were found but no seedlings were seen, survival. We believe that more work needs Flores Hernandez, the owner of Finca el
although some juvenile plants were present. to be done in order to make a good assess- Rosario, who supported this research project
One paper mentioned it as occurring in the ment of its conservation status according on his property. We also give thanks to his
state of Veracruz (Villaseñor, 2016), but this to IUCN criteria. We are planning to con- Finca caretaker Mr. Dionicio Juarez Cabrera,
was found to be erroneous. tinue work on propagation to enable the who helped in the long walks in search of
establishment of conservation collections this species.
As a rare species described relatively recently and to eventually be able to replant it in its
we found no reports of its germination, propa- natural habitat. References
gation or reproductive biology in the literature
and we had to devise our own techniques. We The involvement of the Finca el Rosario’s • IUCN. 2021. The IUCN Red List of
initially considered that propagation by seed landowner, workers and local communities Threatened Species. Version 2021-3.
would be the best method. However, over the continues to be essential to the success of https://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed on
course of our visits to the site we found that the project. They are important stakeholders 10 May 2022.
this tree produces fruit during much of the year who will support the development of the
and only a few mature fruits are present at Recovery Plan to secure the survival of this • Villaseñor, J.L. 2016. Checklist of the
any one time. In addition, we also found that tree. At the beginning of the project Croton native vascular plants of Mexico. Revista
many seeds appeared to have been eaten by rosarianus was unknown to local people Mexicana de Biodiversidad 87: 559–902.
insect larvae. During our field work we only and lacked a common name. In order to
managed to collect 19 fruits, from which we assist with its recognition, we are proposing Allen J. Coombes, Michelle Xicoten-
obtained 43 seed. However, many had not that it is referred to as ‘Arbol del Rosario’ catl-Lozano, Lucio Caamaño Onofre,
developed or had been eaten by larvae and (Rosario Tree). We are still hoping to find Maricela Rodríguez.
only 5% were apparently viable. As yet we more individuals of the species in another Puebla University Botanic Garden
have not raised any plants from seed. area and maybe we will find its local name. (JBU-BUAP), Puebla, Mexico

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 08

 FEATURE
Author: Chris Thorogood

FEATURED GARDEN

BRITAIN’S OLDEST BOTANIC

GARDEN IN THE 21ST CENTURY
The University of Oxford Botanic Garden, founded in
1621, occupies a unique place in history as the birthplace
of botanical science in the UK.
Path down to the Professors House (1871)

Hortus Botanicus, or the Phisick Garden (Botanic Garden), from 'Oxonia illustrata' (1675)

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) • 09-12 09

Introduction resource for teaching and research. The
Garden’s trees are the longest-standing living
he University of Oxford Botanic features of its ever-changing landscape. The

T Garden is the oldest botanic garden

in the UK. It was first established as a
physicke garden for the cultivation of medici-
oldest of these is an English yew (Taxus bac-
cata) planted in 1645. The sole remaining
tree is one of many yews that were planted,
nal plants for teaching the University’s most of which were removed by Charles
medical students. Today, Oxford Botanic Daubeny, the Sherardian Professor of
Garden and Arboretum (OBGA), hold a col- Botany, in the 1800s. The tree was damaged
lection of about 5,000 species; some are severely by Storm Ciara in February 2020,
exceptionally rare or endangered in the wild but it lives on, and may see another four cen-
and hold international conservation value; turies still (Thorogood, 2021).
others are used in research to address the
word’s big challenges, for example those Research in a changing world
linked to climate change and nature-inspired
technology (biomimetics). The collections Today OBGA runs a diverse portfolio of col-
are also used to engage people with the lections-based research projects. At a time of
wonder of plants at a time when this has great need to step up efforts to conserve the
never been more urgent. world’s flora, the Botanic Garden is placing
focus on plants which have historically evaded
The history of Britain’s oldest conservation focus. Parasitic plants for
botanic garden example, are often neglected by botanic
gardens owing to their perceived intractability
The historic Walled Garden was built to cultivation. Over 1% of flowering plants are
between 1621 and 1639 and planted in the parasitic, and extract their food from other
1640s by the Garden’s first keeper. When plants - their so-called hosts. They include
the Garden was first established as a phy- the world’s largest flowers (Rafflesia), econ-
sicke garden in 1621, many of the plants omically important pests (e.g. Striga), and
were classified according to their medicinal ecosystem engineers (e.g. Rhinanthus). All
properties. Later, in the mid-1800s, they parasitic plants possess a special organ called
were rearranged by geographical origin as a haustorium, which attaches to the host, pen-
more specimens became available from over- etrates its tissues and draws food and water
seas. Today the Taxonomic Beds house from it, forming a living physiological bridge Top: Glossostemon bruguieri which
thousands of plants organised by their gen- between the two plants. Many have aban- features in herbal medicine in Iraq.
etic relatedness and are an important doned photosynthesis (holoparasites), and Illustration by Chris Thorogood
these are now completely dependent on other Above: Cistanche deserticola. Illustration
plants for their existence. The evolutionary by Chris Thorogood
origins of parasitic plants were unclear until
the advent of DNA sequencing technologies. tance, little or nothing is known about the
This was because the shift to parasitism was biology of most species and their taxonomy
associated with a degeneration of features remains confused, hindering identification.
traditionally used in plant classification, such Together with scientists at the University of
as well-developed leaves. At OBGA we are Reading, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, and
interested in the processes by which these other institutions in China and the Middle East,
parasitic plants form new species. Our our work seeks to unravel taxonomic com-
Danby Arch and River Path pictured 1913 research shows that shifting hosts may be a plexity in this overlooked but important group
driver of the formation of new species of para- of plants. Recently we highlighted the poten-
sitic plants. Linked to this research, we are tial of Cistanche as a future global crop in a
now developing a unique research collection changing climate. A growing body of research
of parasitic plants at the Botanic Garden into the cultivation of pharmacologically well-
which includes species that are absent in cul- characterised Cistanche taxa in China has
tivation elsewhere (Thorogood et al., 2022). enabled a regional supply of traditional herbal
medicine at low-level cost and intervention.
A specific research focus is on a genus of In the context of a global desertification crisis,
parasitic plants called ‘Desert hyacinths’ there is now significant potential to expand
(genus Cistanche). Some are traded widely cultivation of the plant beyond China, as an
for herbal medicine or have historical local ancillary crop alongside belts of trees installed
Glasshouses importance as food. But despite their impor- to halt land degradation.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 10

To realise this potential, and to monitor trade
to control unsustainable harvesting of
threatened wild populations, a robust tax-
onomy informed by both morphological and
molecular data is needed. We are using a
combined approach examining the ecology
(host range), morphology and DNA
sequence data to develop a robust taxon-
omic framework for Cistanche that can
inform trade, agriculture and conservation
(Thorogood et al., 2021).
The energy railings (grooves) of the
Biomimetics: plants and Nepenthes peristome
technology

We work in collaboration with physicists and

mathematicians at the University of Man-
chester and University of North Carolina, and
at the Mathematical Institute of the University
of Oxford to examine the functional and
structural properties of plants. Oxford
Botanic Garden cultivates an extensive
research collection of carnivorous Nepenthes The carnivorous Nepenthes trap
pitcher plants under glass. Our work explores
the functionality of the slippery surfaces of the underside of the gargantuan leaves is the
the Nepenthes pitcher, and its potential tech- secret to the success of this great floating
nological applications. Inspired by the plant, enigma. A framework of veins on the under-
we have created artificial surfaces to explore side makes up the vascular structure of the The underside of the giant Amazonian
the capability of trapping, retaining and direc- leaf, supporting its large surface area and waterlily
ting the travel of liquid droplets. Our findings keeping it afloat. We compared the high-
revealed a potential mechanism for devel- sided giant Amazonian waterlily leaf which the threats they face amid an increasing
oping systems in which the transport of has thick veins to Nymphaea – a smaller human population. So there is a growing
droplets is controlled by ‘energy railings’. relative with disc-like leaves and a less promi- urgency for botanic gardens to inform and
These railings could provide a biomimetic nent vascular system. Using in situ inspire people with the scientific wonder of
means of transporting and sorting droplets experiments and mathematical modelling, we plants, and foster a greater awareness of
in droplet-based fluidic devices and could found that the giant Amazonian waterlily their importance and the need for their con-
enable the efficient mass transport of liquids leaves had a greater rigidity for a given servation. Yet unlike animals, plants often
along pre-determined pathways. This work volume of plant matter. Leaf size is usually go unnoticed, a phenomenon that has been
also offers insight into the evolution of pitcher restricted mechanically by the expense of described metaphorically as ‘plant blind-
plants, showing that capillary action pins maintenance. A larger surface area for photo- ness’. Botanic gardens’ collections are visited
droplets to the parallel, water-infused synthesis uses more of the plant’s energy to by millions of people every year so the
grooves, and directs their transport in a con- maintain. But the efficient structure and load- opportunities for engaging people with the
trolled way. This indicates that the ‘pitfall’ bearing properties of the giant Amazonian importance of plants and plant conservation
trapping mechanism of Nepenthes is waterlily give it a competitive edge: high are immense. An approach we have
enhanced by the water-infused grooves on strength at low cost. Remarkable structures explored at Oxford Botanic Garden, is to
the slippery rim, driving prey into the trap in in nature such as this can help us to unlock astonish people with plants, changing their
a way that is more tightly controlled than design challenges in engineering. For perceptions that plants are inanimate com-
considered previously, by avoiding arbitrary example, the form of these waterlilies could pared with animals. For example carnivorous
slippage (Box et al., 2019). inspire giant floating platforms, such as solar plants, those that attract and trap animal
panels in the ocean (Box et al., 2022). prey to obtain nutrients – have inspired gen-
Recently we extended this work to examine erations of scientists since Charles Darwin.
the structure of giant Amazonian waterlilies Plants, people and planet They can challenge conventional concepts
(Victoria). The famously large leaves can grow of plant behaviour, and are a powerful
40cm a day, reaching nearly 3m in diameter Biodiversity is being lost locally, regionally engagement mechanic. Online communica-
– ten times larger than any other species of and globally, at an alarming rate. New tion can also be used to show plants that
waterlily – and carry the weight of a small species of plants are still being named and cannot be seen in cultivation. Parasitic plants
child. In collaboration with physicists, we described each year, whilst others shift – many of which are rarely seen by people -
found recently that the distinctive pattern on towards extinction, losing the battle against can challenge people’s perception of plants.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 11

 were most in need. The aim of this project c. 400,000 vascular plants that exist on our
is to help safeguard the continuation of tra- planet represent a living library for scientists
ditional Islamic medicine and its profound to explore. Finally, besides their importance
importance in the treatment of disease in in conservation, research and engagement,
areas where, due to war, the knowledge of botanic gardens which are often situated in
generations is at risk of being been lost cities, are green oases which are beneficial
(Ghazanfar and Thorogood, 2022). to people’s mental health and wellbeing.
Urban greenness has been shown to reduce
Combining conservation with community the public health burden of mental disorders.
engagement can be a powerful approach to First conceived as gardens of medicine cen-
bringing about positive change. OBGA works turies ago, today botanic gardens are not
in collaboration with local partners to exam- only refuges for plants; they are sanctuaries
ine and document the flora of the Canary for human healing.
Islands, and identify opportunities for con-
servation work in a region under growing References
pressure from anthropogenic change.
Together with local ecologists, we work with • Box, F., Erlich, A., Guan, J.H. &
Parasitic plants (Orobanche) in cultivation communities to ‘rewild’ brownfield sites Thorogood C.J. 2022. Gigantic floating
at Oxford Botanic Garden around the city of Arrecife using plants leaves occupy a large surface area
propagated from natural populations around at an economical material cost.
Articles on such plants such as those pub- the island. This approach to conservation Science Advances. 8(6):eabg3790.
lished in the ‘Flora Obscura’ series in the using native species creates green spaces doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abg3790
journal Plants People Planet, which are that require little or no long-term intervention,
accompanied by visually engaging digital and benefit the mental health and wellbeing • Box, F., Thorogood, C.J. & Guan, J.H. 2019.
media, have achieved significant online of local communities. Together with the local Guided droplet transport on synthetic slip-
activity and engagement with audiences residents, we have helped create urban res- pery surfaces inspired by a pitcher plant.
worldwide. Some of these species happen toration gardens of native species. J R Soc Interface. 16(158):20190323. doi:
to be of extreme conservation concern. Pro- 10.1098/rsif.2019.0323
moting awareness of them and the need for “At a time of unprecedented extinction, there
their conservation beyond a conventional is an urgent need to foster a greater aware- • Ghazanfar, S.A. & Thorogood, C.J. 2022.
academic readership, may also be a catalyst ness of the bewildering plant diversity that A herbal of Iraq. Kew Publishing, London.
for conservation action (Thorogood, 2020). exists on our planet.”
• Thorogood, C.J. Astonishing Plants. 2020.
“First conceived as gardens of medicine cen- Concluding Remarks Trends in Plant Sciences. 9:833-836. doi:
turies ago, today botanic gardens are not 10.1016/j.tplants.2020.06.007
only refuges for plants; they are sanctuaries The solutions to many of our biggest chal-
for human healing.” lenges will be unlocked through research into • Thorogood, C.J. 2021. The University of
plants – from renewable energy technology Oxford Botanic Garden: sharing the
It is not just plants that we are losing: and climate change to food security. The scientific wonder and importance of
people’s knowledge of plants in traditional plants with the world. Curtis’s
herbal medicine is also at risk. Herbal medi- Botanical Magazine. 38: 438-450.
cine plays a vital role in healthcare in Middle https://doi.org/10.1111/curt.12419
Eastern countries such as Iraq. Here, some
local communities depend entirely upon tra- • Thorogood, C.J., Witono, J.R., Mursidawati,
ditional herbal medicine for the treatment of S. & Fleischmann, A. 2022. Parasitic
illnesses. Despite the importance of herbal- plant cultivation: examples, lessons
ists in the community, their work is often learned and future directions.
undocumented, and the rich ethnobotanical Sibbaldia: The International Journal of
heritage of traditional herbal medicine is at Botanic Garden Horticulture, (21).
risk of being lost. During periods of war and https://doi.org/10.24823/Sibbaldia.2022.
political turmoil, when communities were 1892
reliant on plants for healthcare, the herbalists
have documented the country’s flora and its • Thorogood, C.J., Leon, C.J., Lei, D.,
uses in ethnobotanical medicine. OBGA Aldughayman, M., Huang, L-f. & Hawkins,
recently produced a herbal flora, published J.A. 2021. Desert hyacinths: An obscure
with Kew, inspired by an Iraq herbalist Jaleel solution to a global problem? Plants,
Ibrahim Quragheely, who dispensed herbal Community-led conservation work in People, Planet. 3: 302– 307.
medicines to communities for when they Arrecife https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10215

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 12

 FEATURE
Authors: Olha Pokhylchenko and Yana Bobrova

Horse chestnuts with tree peonies (Olha Pokhylchenko)

FEATURED GARDEN

CLASSIC IDEAS AND A MODERN conditions for plants requiring different ecol-
ogies. This long-inhabited area includes

STAGE FOR LEONID RUBTSOV’S

more than twenty ancient and veteran trees,
such as oaks, mulberries, elms, and horse

DENDRARIUM
chestnuts and the composition of the
Arboretum’s landscape is magnificently
emphasized by the churches of Vydubecky
monastery and Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
More than 70 years since its creation, the social and scientific
Leonid Rubtsov wrote in his publication “The
value of this arboretum remains the same as originally Dendrarium and its collections” in 1971:
intended – it is a green laboratory, an education center, “the arboretum aims to be a living laboratory,
containing the type-specimens for species
an example of garden art, and a place for people to relax. identification and providing a base for the
reproduction of future plants, as well as
Introduction being an education center for city gardening
specialists, an example of garden art and a
ubtsov’s Dendrarium (Arboretum) is place for relaxation”.

R part of the Mykola Hryshko National

Botanic Garden of the National
Academy of Science of Ukraine. Spread over
Developing the collection

30 ha the arboretum is named after land- In creating the arboretum, the efforts of
scape architect and Doctor of Biology, garden staff were focused on collecting
Leonid Rubtsov, who created a number of plants and seeds from other botanical
projects for this and other garden’s areas. gardens, as well as carrying out scientific
Rubtsov supervised the collection of speci- expeditions to natural stands. The Garden’s
mens, land preparation and planting on this botanists visited places of temperate climate
area as well as the first stocktaking in 1967. across the whole USSR looking for poten-
tially interesting flora – these included the
Rubtsov used a terraced slop of the high bank Far East, Caucasus, Central Asia, Crimea,
Leonid Rubtsov of Dnipro River in Kyiv to provide suitable and the Carpathians.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) • 13-16 13

 The collection today

Today the Arboretum’s collections comprise

1,062 species, varieties, and cultivars. All
the plants have grown into trees and shrubs
and it is now time to restrict the introduction
of new species. According to the current
collection policy, Rubtsov’s Dendrarium is
enriched only with plants from natural
stands, with a focus on species from
Ukraine, threatened species, and fully rep-
resented genera, such as spruce, pine,
juniper, ephedra, linden, lilac, mock-orange,
deutzia, and willow. Cultivars of Ukrainian
selection are on the wish-list too. The social
and scientific value of this place remains the
same as it was intended by Leonid Rubtsov
Magnolia Garden (Olha Pokhylchenko) Crimea perspective (Olha Pokhylchenko) – it is a green laboratory, an education
center, an example of garden art, and a place
The collected seeds and plants became a Vydubetsky monastery is the most famous for people to relax.
basis for the Arboretum. In 1946, Leonid picture of Kyiv. Deutzias and mock-oranges
Rubtsov with other scientists visited Ger- succeed lilacs from late May to June.
many to select and buy plants from local
nurseries. Receipts for purchasing the plants After more than 70 years of the Arboretum’s
from different nurseries are kept in the existence, we can see how talented and far-
garden’s archive. These papers provide con- sighted Leonid Rubtsov was – the trees have
firmation of the origin of the collected plants. grown up, but all the author’s conceptions
Nowadays, the German plants are the oldest are recognizable and spectacular. People
in the arboretum collection. who took part in creating these collections
drew planting schemes and filled cards for
During the Arboretum project creation in each specimen, leaving detailed reports in
1947, the plants were placed by genera the garden’s archive. All these papers are a
according to Engler’s system. A species, its basis for documenting the modern collection. Syringarium (Olha Pokhylchenko)
varieties and forms became the collection’s
basic unit. Specific differences between
similar species were underlined through
their close alignment. After stocktaking in
1967, the arboretum collections comprised
754 species with 257 varieties and forms.

Colour combinations

Rubtsov’s principle of color concentration

was implemented in stands of plants with
seasonally alternate blooming times. The
first April flowering starts in the Magnolia
Garden. Next come Forsythias, which were
planted together with contrasting Muscaries.
During early May, the apple garden is in its
heyday and in Rubtsov’s time, the apple-
trees were planted together with huge
numbers of tulips on a lawn surrounded by
trees. May is also the time of flowering for
1,500 lilac bushes and tree peonies that
grow side-by-side. Plants of 22 species and
132 cultivars of lilac grow in the Syringaryi,
which covers 2.4 hectares. The view from
the Lilac Garden toward the Dnipro and Lilacs with tree peonies (Olha Pokhylchenko)

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 14

 the future, when the Botanic Garden has
more financial opportunities, it will be poss-
ible to add the drip irrigation on top of the
existing watering system. Another important
decision made was to divide the Arboretum
into 64 blocks and build the system grad-
ually based on available financing. This
approach allows us to provide water to areas
of the Garden as soon as the corresponding
irrigation block is constructed, rather than
waiting for the entire irrigation system to be
finalized. Moreover, we also have a chance
to show our donors the results achieved and
initiate fundraising for new blocks.

In summer of 2021 we built the first three

blocks of the irrigation system. These
covered the Jasmine Garden, ash trees and
Volunteers helping to build the irrigation system (Valentyna Sliusar) hickory trees. We also installed the pipeline
to cover plateau areas of the Arboretum.
These artificial stands provide an ideal not be restored. Thus, the only available
opportunity to identify problems and under- decision was to start the construction of a Fundraising
stand how to create new optimal ecological new watering system.
models. More and more trees are dying The donations we received came from very
every year for different reasons, including A project group was created in Autumn different sources. We organized fundraising
allelopathic interaction, decreasing precipi- 2020, consisting of the Garden’s and charity through a crowdfunding platform “Kind
tation and increasing pest and disease foundation’s management, to develop the Challenge” and we received funds from the
burdens. Trees that can live up to 300 years technical plans for the irrigation system and secondary school № 5 located near the
in optimal conditions (spruces, larches, or to be able to make any required amend- Garden, that held a charity fair to raise the
pines) typically last only 70-80 years in our ments quickly. Being a charity foundation, money. A significant part of financing was
circumstances. our financial resources are limited and we obtained from an insurance company with
had to solve the problem within strict budget Canadian roots “Colonnade Ukraine”. Work
Building an irrigation system limits. After long discussions, we decided by volunteers also helped to save money
against the option of drip irrigation and related to digging the trenches (423 meters)
Optimised watering and mulching can decided to develop a more conservative and wells (15) as well as creating a friendly
revitalise the soil and improve the growing system - a network of pipes and wells. In atmosphere around this project.
conditions for the trees. Therefore, building
an irrigation system became the next stage
in the Rubtsov’s Dendrarium story. However, ЯЛИНИ ВИЗНАЧЕНІ ГРУПИ РОСЛИННИХ
ВИДІВ
БЛОКИ ПОЛИВНОЇ СИСТЕМИ:
as the garden’s budget didn’t allow such a ЗБУДОВАНІ

ЗАПЛАНОВАНО ЗБУДУВАТИ
massive project to be implemented in a short НАЙБЛИЖЧИМ ЧАСОМ
НЕЗБУДОВАНІ

time, this activity was only affordable with ІСНУЮЧА ЧАСТИНА ВОДОГОНУ

НАСОС

external assistance. ЦЕНТРАЛЬНА МАГІСТРАЛЬ: 3800 М

1 БЛОК = 60 М

The challenge was taken up by Yana

Bobrova, Executive Director and co-founder
of “Peli can live” charity foundation1:
ДОБРОЧИНЦІ, ЯКІ ПРОСПОНСОРУВАЛИ
“Starting the ‘Water for botanic garden pro- ПОБУДОВУ БЛОКІВ ПОЛИВУ:

1, 9 БЛОКИ
ject’ was a real challenge as we had never Профінансовано доброчинцями
через краудфандингову
платформу KindChallenge та

created an irrigation system before”. на рахунок благодійного

фонду “Peli can live”

2 БЛОК
Профінансовано
СК“Колоннейд Україна”

After investigating the problem, it became 5 БЛОК

Профінансовано школою № 5
Печерського району міста Києва

clear that the only way to save and develop

6, 7 БЛОКИ

the unique collection of Rubtsov’s Den- Профінансовано АТ“Сітібанк Україна”

drarium was a sustainable watering solution. 8, 64 БЛОКИ

Профінансовано СК“Перша”

Unfortunately, the old irrigation system built 45-47 БЛОКИ

Буде профінансовано
ТОВ“ЮСК УКРАЇНА”

at the time of foundation of the Botanic

Garden, failed in the early ‘90s and could Map of the watering system

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 15

 Today this project means much more for the
volunteers of the botanic garden: it is their
time to believe in a future peaceful life. And
it is uniting people. Some of our volunteers
arrived in Kyiv from the territories occupied
by Russian invaders, some people lost their
friends or the members of their families. The
joint work in the botanic garden is a treat-
ment for their’s and our souls.

Now we need help telling our story to the

visitors/communities of other gardens, hoping
they would like to support our fundraising
campaign. Perhaps, some people/companies
Friends of the Botanic Garden (Andrii Gorb) would like us to plant their own tree in the
Mykola Hryshko National Botanic Garden of
To raise further funds for the new blocks of Botanic Garden was closed to visitors, as well National Academy of Science of Ukraine, in
our irrigation system, in addition to the crowd- as other parks and forests located in the ter- the heart of Kyiv, capital of Ukraine.
funding and financing from the corporate ritories suffering from the war. However,
donors we introduced a “Plant Your Tree” during the last weekend of May 2022, the Olha Pokhylchenko
project. This allows individuals and com- Botanic Garden reopened its doors for the M.M. Hryshko National Botanic
panies to choose a tree (from the list of plants visitors, and we decided not to waste valuable Garden of National Academy of
grown and provided to us by the Botanic time but to continue our construction. science of Ukraine
Garden) and plant it in honor of their family Ukraine 01014, Tymiryazevska
or company. These trees are supported by Four new blocks of irrigation system are str., 1. NBG NANU
the agreed charitable contribution to our already working, 5 more will be opened in
Foundation. The names of donors are indi- August this year. This is thanks to our new Yana Bobrova
cated on the signs next to the planted trees. corporate donors: the JSC “Citibank Ukraine” Peli can live, charity foundation
and Insurance Company “Persha’ as well as pelicanlive.com
“We even participated in a marathon to raise the other financing mentioned above and
funds for the garden”. many private individuals who love the Botanic ENDNOTE
1. Charity foundation “Peli can live” was created in 2017
Garden and supported this project during this to implement nature protection projects. The mission of
Thanks to financing by the EU through ISAR summer fundraising campaign. We have also the foundation is: “Empowering force of nature for the
harmonic development”. The foundation builds pelican
Ednannia in the framework of the EU4Civil received confirmation from JUSK UKRAINE nesting islands and insect hotels, helps preserve forests
Society Sustainability in Ukraine project, we of financing for the Magnolia blocks. and natural ecosystems, and restores forest belts.
created the Friends of Botanic Garden com-
munity, for whom we organized several
thematic excursions (including one devoted
to the birds that live in the Botanic Garden)
and worked on a special photo project
#waterforbotanic garden. As well as attract-
ing several new corporate donors to this
project, others have also made positive deci-
sions to finance it. Our initial plan was to
start the construction of the new blocks of
irrigation in April 2022, and we started to
make the necessary preparations. The last
portion of required equipment was pur-
chased on 23rd of February, 2022.

Recent challenges

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has changed

our plans. We could not start the construction
works as we planned, we postponed the
opening of our photo exhibition and we have
lost some of our committed donors as they
have lost their assets due to the war. The Opening to visitors (Yana Bobrova)

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 16

 FEATURE

INTERVIEW

CHRISTOPHER DUNN,
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
CORNELL BOTANIC GARDENS,
CORNELL UNIVERSITY, USA

You are Director of a large botanic garden Certainly, our interests and those of the uni-
located on the campus of a university. Are versity overlap considerably. In fact, our focus
the programmes of the garden influenced on biocultural diversity and conservation,
by the interests of the university, or do you which we will discuss a bit later, is one area
set your own priorities? that brings together faculty in natural
sciences, humanities, and the arts. We are
It is both. The interests of Cornell University increasingly being appreciated as a hub
relate primarily to supporting the academic where multidisciplinary work can be nurtured.
enterprise and to engaging our community.
We not only support faculty and student Do the visiting public see the garden as a
research/teaching, but we also contribute to part of the university?
the academic enterprise by teaching several (and especially so during the COVID-19
formal courses. Our interests at the gardens, That is a good and important question. I pandemic, as we continued to be open to
and which we largely develop on our own, think most visitors see us that way. Because all). On the other hand, most community
deal with increasing awareness, broadly, of the university is a non-profit educational members assume that we receive full fund-
the essential interdependence between institution, it does not pay taxes to the local ing from the university. In actuality, we
plant diversity and human cultural diversity. governments. However, in lieu of taxes, the receive very little support.
It is not enough, for instance, to conserve university supports a number of community
species for their own sake. We need to do organizations, the local bus system, etc. The One interesting aspect to this is that, until a
so also for the sake of local and Indigenous botanic garden is also listed as one of the few years ago, we had a very different name
communities whose livelihoods and tradi- university’s contributions to the community. (Cornell Plantations). When I took over as
tions depend on that diversity. Thus, we are appreciated by the community Executive Director in 2014, my staff and I
made a concerted effort to see if there was
support for a new name or if the current name
had strong support. A new name won the
day. With that new name came a lot more
awareness of who we are, what we do, and
our place within the university structure.

Is the garden used by university students

in their research projects?

Yes, very much so. We actively encourage

this and make every effort to engage stu-
dents. And the students are not only in the
plant sciences. We have had physics and
engineering students studying the architec-
ture and structure of trees, others looking at
identifying species by their spectral signa-
tures. Students in art, literature, and music
have been studying the relationship between
human creativity and nature. And others
examining the emotional, psychological, and
physical benefits of spending time in nature.
Clearly, we are not just a pretty place!
Aerial shot of garden (Jay Potter)

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) • 17-18 17

 other hand, there are some drawbacks to
being affiliated with a “parent organization.”
It means we are not as nimble when it comes
to staffing, hiring, getting grants (the univer-
sity takes a large cut), among other things.
We need to ask permission for some activities
or processes that we would otherwise con-
sider and develop internally.

That said, having access to students means

that we can directly influence, in a positive
way, the next generation of engaged civic-
minded young people. Having students
wanting to work with us and eagerly being
involved as student leaders in our new
Learning by Leading program is immensely
gratifying.
Staff member engaged in academic enterprise (Cornell University Photography)
In some countries there is a trend away
You have a particular interest in biocultural topic. So much so, that our goal to develop a from the teaching of botany at universities,
conservation. Is this something that is also biocultural hub at the university has a strong in favour of more biotechnological options.
reflected across the University’s pro- chance of coming to be. In fact, in collabora- Do you see this in your university and more
grammes? tion with a faculty member in the natural broadly across the USA?
sciences, we hosted a hybrid international
Yes, I am very interested in biocultural con- conference on biocultural conservation with Yes, this has been a concern for many years.
servation, as we talked about earlier. I came a focus on how climate change is impacting In fact, even in the 1980s, many universities
to Cornell University from Hawaiʻi where the local pastoralist communities in the Pamir were abandoning organismal science in
relationships among land, nature, culture, Mountains of Central Asia. favour of molecular research. Taxonomy,
and language are profound. Developing bio- too, has become a molecular enterprise and
cultural programs at a botanic garden in the To give you an idea of university support for less of a field-based one. Accompanying
Pacific is not much of a challenge. In fact, it this initiative, the Provost of the university these changes has been the tendency to
would be strange if that were NOT the case. facilitated the in-person participation of combine botany and zoology departments
On the east coast of the United States, how- members of those communities and provided into biology ones, often to the detriment of
ever, linking plants’ stories (their ecological, some welcoming remarks that spoke the botanical sciences. However, at Cornell
evolutionary, economic significance) to those passionately about Cornell’s commitment to all the botany-related academic depart-
of various cultures is not such an easy con- providing a space for the Indigenous voice. ments (and this includes horticulture) have
cept to sell. However, because we have a been assembled into a single School of Inte-
very thoughtful and forward-thinking staff, I will say that all botanic gardens should grated Plant Sciences. Although any
as well as a resurgence of the Native Ameri- embrace biocultural diversity and conser- reorganization will meet some resistance, I
can communities and culture in our region, vation. It must be an integral component of think this new School elevates the plant
we were able to readily develop both the the work we do. It is both an opportunity sciences to a level not otherwise possible.
support for, and content of, biocultural pro- and an obligation, as I have written about Another interesting development (and this
grams that are authentic to our place. As extensively. is not unique to Cornell) is the increasing
soon as we changed our name to Cornell appreciation of the many values of nature,
Botanic Gardens, we prepared new mission Do you think it is an advantage for a greater awareness of environmental justice,
and vision statements that explicitly refer to botanic garden to be associated with a and greater interest in ethnobotany and eth-
the interdependence between plant and cul- University? nomedicine. I am hopeful that we are
tural diversity. beginning to see things swing back to a
Yes, it is a great advantage. We receive sup- more organismal and people-centered view
Cornell University supports an American port in a number of administrative areas that of botany and plants in general.
Indian and Indigenous Studies Program we would otherwise have to pay for our-
which includes faculty from various disci- selves, such as IT, human resources, Further reading:
plines and an Africana Studies and Research insurance and retirement plans. And, we do
Center, allowing us the opportunity to expand not have to support our own research pro- Dunn, C.P. 2017. Biological and cultural
the scope of the communities and faculty grams. Some visitors and professional diversity in the context of botanic garden
with whom we work. As we continue along colleagues have asked me about our research conservation strategies.
this path, we are finding so many more fac- staff. I point to the university campus and Plant Diversity 39: 396-401.
ulty and students with strong interests in this say, “THAT is our research program.” On the https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pld.2017.10.003

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 18

 Endlicher Fenzl Kerner trail, University of Vienna Botanical Garden (B. Knickmann)

ARTICLES

THE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF THE UNIVERSITY

OF VIENNA – CHANGES, CHALLENGES AND
SUCCESS STORIES

STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY BOTANICAL

GARDEN – ACADEMIA SUPPORTING RESEARCH,
EDUCATION AND CONSERVATION OUTCOMES

BONN UNIVERSITY BOTANIC GARDENS: A

GARDEN DEDICATED TO (MUCH MORE THAN)
PURE BOTANY CASE STUDIES
THE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF THE CITY OF
PLOTTIER (JBCP), A CASE OF MIXED
UNIVERSITY-MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT THE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF THE ADAM
GOVERNANCE IN ARGENTINA MICKIEWICZ UNIVERSITY IN POZNAŃ, POLAND

PADRE JULIO MARRERO BOTANIC GARDEN: A THE BOTANIC GARDEN AND THE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY BOTANIC GARDEN IN ECUADOR OF CASTILLA-LA MANCHA: A FRUITFUL
SYNERGIC RELATIONSHIP IN THE
EDUCATION AND RESEARCH AT THE GHENT CONTINENTAL MEDITERRANEAN CONTEXT
UNIVERSITY BOTANICAL GARDEN
THE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF THE FACULTY OF
A HUNDRED YEARS OF NATURE AND HISTORY: SCIENCE OF MASARYK UNIVERSITY IN BRNO,
THE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF THE UNIVERSITY CZECH REPUBLIC
OF SAN CARLOS DE GUATEMALA
OBSERVATOIRE DU MONDE DES PLANTES, THE
THE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF THE UNIVERSITY BOTANICAL GARDEN OF LIEGE’S UNIVERSITY
OF LEIPZIG - BRINGING THE GLOBAL DIVERSITY
OF PLANTS TO LEIPZIG FOR EXPLORATION, SOFIA UNIVERSITY BOTANIC GARDENS –
COMMUNICATION AND PROTECTION HISTORY AND PRESENT

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 19

 ARTICLE
Author: Michael Kiehn

THE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA – CHANGES,
CHALLENGES AND SUCCESS STORIES

Main alley of the Botanical Garden. (R. Hromniak)

Since its establishment in 1754, the Hortus Botanicus only and are not accessible to the public, a
small greenhouse and several display cabinets
Vindobonensis (HBV) has been actively engaged in
inform about the special collections cultivated
scientific research, academic and public education, indoors (Kiehn & Knickmann 2019).
conservation, and horticulture. As a green space in the
Connecting history with modern
city centre, the garden is also an important place for science: the new “Systematic display”
recreation. Acting as a “window” for the University’s
Many maps, planting lists and seed cata-
public outreach, the garden has always tried to trigger logues document changes in layout and plant
collections of the HBV since its foundation.
curiosity and encourage contact with nature.
Thus, it is possible to analyse and use this
historical legacy for future developments. This
approach was applied in the recent rearrange-
Introduction grams of the University. Almost 5,000 species ment of the systematic division at the HBV
are growing outdoors and are publicly access- according to the most recent state of science,
oday, the HBV covers an area of c. 8 ible. Display groups are, e.g., devoted to plant a topic of major importance for a university

T ha and is visited by up to 200,000

people each year. The plant collections
of the garden comprise more than 11,500
systematics, useful plants, plant morphology,
plant geography, or to the ex situ conservation
of rare and endangered species of the Aus-
garden. Covering about a quarter of the
garden´s area, the “systematic” arrangement
of species, genera, families and orders has a
species from all over the world. A large trian flora. The greenhouses harbour more long and well documented history, reflecting
number of these plants are used in the than 6,500 species on c. 1,500m². As most changes in views about systematic concepts
research, teaching and public outreach pro- of these plants are used for research purposes of flowering plants.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) • 20-23 20

”The diversity of functions as well as the Collections suited for 21st century
knowledge about historical developments research and conservation
and achievements can be successfully used
to cope with new challenges and changing The HBV is still an indispensable tool for uni-
tasks” versity research and teaching; it provides up
to 10,000 plants or parts of plants of around
Using the publicity of the 650th anniversary 400 species from its collections every year.
of the University of Vienna for the realization However, the foci of the collections have
of this project, at first a trail (“Endlicher-Fenzl- been changed in line with the garden’s
Kerner-trail“) leading through the display changing tasks in research, teaching and
groups was established. It is named after the public outreach. Modern collection manage- New systematic display group with
three garden directors Stephan Endlicher, ment requires: a proper documentation of information board (B. Knickmann)
Eduard Fenzl, and Anton Kerner von Mari- the accessions; a forward-looking collection
laun, who were very influential botanists at policy; and mid- and long-term on-site plan- species cultivated indoors), or the Pannonian
their time. Along this trail interpretative ning for content and design incorporating flora (c. 160 species of different dry vegeta-
boards help to understand the history and historical aspects if appropriate. Today, well tion types from Eastern Austria). The
changes of plant systematic concepts planned additions to the collections of the “Pannonian Group”, developed since 1991
reflected in the garden layout with special HBV are made by research trips in accord in an open area of the garden, represents an
focus on ideas developed at the University with the requirements of nature protection ex situ gene pool for several highly endan-
of Vienna. The trail is embedded into the and international conventions like the CBD gered species. Current research activities,
new arrangement for all flowering plant beds or CITES, and also through seed and plant e.g., focus on the links between ex situ and
in the systematic division (with now more exchanges with botanical institutions world- in situ species conservation (Schumacher et
than 2,000 taxa) according to the most wide. Garden staff members actively al., 2013, Kodym et al., 2018). At the same
recent classification, the Angiosperm Phy- participate in national and international net- time, the displays aim to improve the public
logeny Group IV system. It needs to be works like the European Consortium of interest in conserving endangered Austrian
emphasised, that without the skills of the Botanical Gardens, BGCI or IABG. They are dry locations and the associated species. As
greatly involved head gardener, the division involved the implementation of international a consequence of the described collection
could not have been reorganized in this way. regulations regarding access and benefit policy, many cultivated species are of high
Information panels explain the different plant sharing, e.g., by fostering the International scientific value or occur only rarely in nature.
groups as well as the changing views about Plant Exchange Network (IPEN) or by negoti- As they all are legally acquired, national and
their circumscription and relationships for ating MoUs with biodiversity-rich countries. international cooperation projects have been
different target audiences (Knickmann et al., Thus, unique research collections with a set up to share expertise about their cultiva-
2020). The new “system” is well perceived special focus on species conservation and tion requirements and to pass on such plants
by the garden visitors. It is the subject of protection have been developed in the (in particular duplicates) to other gardens.
many guided garden tours and is also used greenhouses and outdoors, representing, This means that not only their chance of sur-
in university teaching. e.g., the orchid genus Bulbophyllum (c. 700 vival in cultivation is increased; it is also more
likely that plant material of the species in
question will be available for future research
and conservation purposes.

Linking history and climate change:

the amended plant geographical
groups

Many historical traits of botanical sciences

are mirrored in the layout of the HBV, thus
providing a valuable background for a major
task of a university garden: to explain and
present developments and challenges in bot-
anical research. This relates, e.g., to the “plant
geographical groups”. These were estab-
lished in 1879 by Anton Kerner von Marilaun
and seem to be the first divisions in a botanic
garden worldwide explicitly dedicated to
plant geography. In 1889 they comprised c.
25 well documented geographical areas with
typical elements of their vegetation zones.
Pannonian display group (R. Hromniak) After more than a century, a new concept

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 21

 options and needs of university education
with the demands for education activities at
the garden. Over time, the different courses
and programs, as well as the interactions
with the target groups, have been subject of
evaluation and research. University courses
with their applied elements in the garden
have become part of the curricula. As a side
effect of the research projects on science
education topics, new ways and tools to
increase curiosity about nature in different
audiences have been developed, e.g. to
counteract “plant blindness” (Pany & Heid-
inger, 2017) or to understand effects of
climate change. A remarkable indicator for
the recognition of this program is the recent
establishment of a new building for the
Green School at the garden, realized in the
Children at the Botanical Garden (R. Hromniak) context of the 650th anniversary of the Uni-
versity of Vienna in 2015 (Kiehn et al., 2020).

Concluding remarks

Some of the structures and tasks of the HBV

have remained nearly unchanged since
1754. Some others have been altered con-
siderably, and some have been added to the
portfolio of the garden. The present paper
has highlighted examples for each of these
Map of the HBV in 1770 fields. They all contribute to the current state
of the HBV as a well-recognized Core Facility
for a revitalization of this part of the HBV reach (“Green School”) program at the HBV of the Faculty of Life Sciences at the Univer-
was initiated. It is based on the historical evi- was started more than 30 years ago. It was sity of Vienna, as a highly esteemed green
dence and plantings, but adds a new developed in parallel to the need for courses space and learning environment for the gen-
element to the topic: potential effects of cli- for science education for biologists and future eral public, and also as an important player
mate change (Knickmann & Kiehn, 2022). biology teachers. Thus, it was created with in the national and international botanic
As vegetation zones and climate are closely the intention to combine the potentials, garden and scientific communities.
related to each other, hardiness is taken into
account for the selection of new taxa.
Especially species reported “just not to be
hardy in the Viennese climate” are tested.
Thus, the new approach builds on the his-
torical plant geographical framework, but, in
addition, is likely to provide long-term
information about the climate tolerance of
the selected species.

Training university students and

public outreach: the “Green School
Program”

Situated in the city centre, the HBV provides

an attractive environment to create and sup-
port curiosity about nature for visitors of all
ages and social backgrounds. Thus, science
communication, especially of topics studied
at the University of Vienna, is a rewarding
challenge. The corresponding public out- Botanicum building (K. Ranger)

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 22

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to his colleagues Bar-

bara Knickmann, Frank Schumacher and
David Bröderbauer for sharing their ideas
about different topics featured in this paper.

References

• Kiehn, M., Bröderbauer, D., Rose, M., Schu-

macher, F., Rauchberger, N. & Schlag-Edler,
B. 2020: The Botanicum: New options for
science education and public outreach at
the Botanical Garden of the University of
Vienna. pp. 139-144 in Espírito-Santo, M.
D., Soares, A. L. & Veloso, M. (eds.): Botanic Alpine plant display (R. Hromniak)
Gardens, People and Plants for a Sustain-
able World: following the 8th Eurogard • Knickmann, B. & Kiehn, M., 2022: Revital-
Congress held in Lisboa, May 7th-11th ization of the historical Plant Geographical
2018. Lisbon: IsaPress. Group at the Botanical Garden of the Uni-
versity of Vienna. pp. 77-84 in Espírito
• Kiehn, M. & Knickmann, B. (eds.), 2019: Santo, M. D. (ed.): Proceedings 1st Inter-
Der Botanische Garten. 2nd edition, national Congress of Historic Botanical
Wien. 94 p. Gardens. Lisbon: IsaPress.

• Knickmann, B., Kiehn, M., Schumacher, F. • Kodym, A., Senula, A., Temsch, E., Hood-
& Petz-Grabenbauer, M., 2020: Connect- Novotny, R., Schumacher, F., Sekurova,
ing heritage with modern science: the new O., Zotchev, S. & Kiehn, M., 2018: Micro-
systematic division at the Botanical propagation and cryoconservation of the
Garden of the University of Vienna. pp. endangered plant species Artemisia
212-216 in Espírito-Santo, M. D., Soares, laciniata (Asteraceae). CryoLetters. 39:
A. L. & Veloso, M. (eds.): Botanic Gardens, 177-189. Bulbophyllum lakatoense (R. Hromniak)
People and Plants for a Sustainable World:
following the 8th Eurogard Congress held • Pany, P. & Heidinger, C., 2017: Useful in Hahl, K., Juuti, K., Lampiselkä, J., Uitto,
in Lisboa, May 7th-11th 2018. Lisbon: Isa- plants as potential flagship species to A. & Lavonen, J. (eds.): Cognitive and
Press. counteract plant blindness. pp. 127-140 Affective Aspects in Science Education
Research: Selected Papers from the
ESERA 2015 Conference. Cham: Springer.

• Schumacher, F., Grünweis, F., Knickmann,

B., Maier, R., Prehsler, D., Tod, F. & Kiehn,
M., 2013: Projekte und Initiativen des
Botanischen Gartens der Universität
Wien (HBV) zur Erhaltung von Step-
penpflanzen am Beispiel von Artemisia
pancicii und Dracocephalum austriacum.
pp. 385-394 in Baumbach, H. & Pfützen-
reuter, S. (eds.): Steppenlebensräume
Europas - Gefährdung, Erhaltungsmaß-
nahmen und Schutz. Erfurt.

Michael Kiehn
Head, Core Facility Botanical
Garden
University of Vienna
Rennweg 14, 1030 Vienna
Austria
Pannonian display. (R. Hromniak)

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 23

 ARTICLE
Author: Donovan Kirkwood

STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY BOTANICAL

GARDEN – ACADEMIA SUPPORTING RESEARCH,
EDUCATION AND CONSERVATION OUTCOMES

1922 – a teaching garden is

established

he beginning of Stellenbosch Univer-

T sity Botanical Garden (SUBG) was in

1902 when lecturer Dr Augusta Vera
Duthie started growing plants for research
and teaching next to the main botany build-
ing on campus. By 1921 this small start was
of enough value that professor of Botany,
Dr Gert C. Nel, convinced University Council
to allocate the current small ~1.5 hectare
(~4 acre) university property for the Bot-
anical Garden, and work started in 1922. In
1925 the first curator, Dr Hans Herre was
appointed, joined by horticulturist Mr Helmut
Meyer in 1930. This makes Stellenbosch
University Botanical Garden the oldest uni-
versity botanic garden in Africa.

The new institution rapidly gained inter-

national recognition with a strong focus on
academic botany. Many species and genera
were discovered and described by Herre Layout of the "upper garden" from 1948
and Meyer, and more named after them,
including Meyerophytum meyeri, Herrean-
thus meyeri and Cyrtanthus herrei. The Surrounded by the world’s richest non-tropical flora, and
garden layout was inspired by classical
close to the most diverse desert flora, the Stellenbosch
European teaching botanical gardens. Our
4 existing public glasshouses were replaced University Botanical Garden is the only university botanic
over the original glasshouse footprints, even
retaining a Welwitschia sown in 1926 from
garden within the heart of the Cape Flora - a region that
seed sent by Marloth, probably one of the is a conservation super-hotspot.
oldest in cultivation. The garden map from
1948 shows beds laid out by region and
major habitat types, or taxon to support tours to European and Asian gardens with garden. Only historical labels and older rec-
foundational South African botany teaching a focus on horticultural landscaping and ords retained information continuity. Google
and education. botanical curiosities. However, specific Street View images of the garden from 2014
academic collections, such as the green- still reflect large areas of mature landscaping
Attack of the clones house succulents, did continue to be grown. planted with common horticultural plants.
Later, the globally exceptional South African
After the initial purely academic start, the Pelargonium collection created and curated A new hope
garden prioritised aesthetic and visitor by botany academics was planted out hap-
appeal for six decades. From 1962 until he hazardly across the garden. We know from Of course there was still some academic
retired in 1999, curator and landscape archi- records in Botany that nearly all of that involvement throughout and the garden was
tect Mr Wim Tijmens, regularly led overseas Pelargonium collection is now lost at our an ongoing source of teaching material.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) • 24-27 24

Notably in 1998, our important Oxalis
research reference collection was estab-
lished at the SUBG, but with all the care
done by Prof. Dreyer and her associates at
the Botany and Zoology Department. Mr
Martin Smit started as curator in 2012, and
started the mammoth task of updating the
collections, working from labels and avail-
able records, mapping specimens, and
identifying unlabelled specimens and acces-
sioning into the IrisBG collections database
we still use. By the time he left in early 2018,
the database reflected 2,500 accession
items representing 1,540 species. Mr Smit Seven of our interns with staff horticulturist Mbali Mkhize on a recent local fieldwork outing
added a number of interesting global and
South African plant species, spearheaded (Amaryllidaceae) that occurs on a local uni- at its core. With a small investment in time,
the construction and planting of an versity property. This was a fruitful even existing collaborations have greatly
upgraded Tropical Greenhouse and partnership that is now expanding to other expanded in scope. These provide us with
improved many displays. Academic collab- taxa, supporting conservation, research and valuable resources, communication content
oration started getting off the ground again. teaching. Local restoration ecologist Dr and reach, and potential interns. In turn we
In particular Mr. Smit worked with the Dr Stuart Hall stood in as a temporary manager can contribute teaching and research ser-
Paul Hills at the Stellenbosch University for a few months in 2018. Apart from being vices and growing support. Reaching out to
Institute for Biotechnology to start a con- a prodigious collector in local threatened new academic partners has been fruitful.
servation project with the increasingly habitats, he achieved the important mile- Even within Life Sciences there were many
endangered geophyte Haemanthus pumilio stone of registering SUBG as a BGCI academics only barely aware we existed, or
Conservation Practitioner Garden. not considering us as a source of support or
workspace, or a showcase for their research.
So when I (Don Kirkwood) started in late Earth Sciences were delighted to move
2018, a lot of the important groundwork for some first-year practical teaching to our
growing the conservation and academic garden, advising us on construction of rock
revival of the garden was in place. Critically, walled raised beds that also demonstrate
the appointment of Curator was jointly over- regional geological materials, bedding struc-
seen by representatives from Botany and the tures and unconformities. Geomatics
SUNCOM Commercial Services division that Honours students come into the garden
directly manages the garden, with a clear every year and improve and update our digi-
mandate to expand academic and conser- tal map while learning how to use high
vation value. But there was a huge amount precision GPS, survey equipment and
to do. Staff morale was low and operational undertake real-world, client-focused Geo-
and upgrade resources were non-existent. graphical Information System projects.
There was no garden vision, policy frame-
work, strategy or business plan in place. This And of course, having a massive, well-
is where our academic context made all the resourced support machine – Finance
difference. As a stand-alone institution, going administration, HR, Legal, Facilities and
from a permanent staff of five and 3 raw Infrastructure management, IT, Health, and
interns, with no infrastructure or project even Security - means we can focus on our
budget, to where we are four years later, own core work. Our income and operational
would have been impossible. Stellenbosch budgets were decimated by the impacts of
University, already one of the top five univer- Covid, but we didn’t have to worry about
sities in Africa, put an ambitious and core salaries. Although not intuitive, being
progressive 2019-2024 Strategic Framework managed as part of SUNCOM, the Com-
in place that aligns perfectly with the role of mercial Services division, rather than Botany,
a modern conservation botanical garden. just makes sense. SUNCOM manage leases,
shops, business and residences on campus,
Collaborative activities and houses an innovation and business
start-up hub – so we have full support to
Stellenbosch University core strategic Apart from demonstrable commitment to manage our lease and other income streams,
themes directly support revitalisation of our transformation and being an employer of support a long-term investment in growth,
Botanical Garden choice, the university vision has collaboration and we are free to obsess about plants!

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 25

 a focus on Cape bulbs and other geophytes,
where one can hold hundreds to thousands
of individuals in a few large pots. In the last
ory

Species
&H U

To reati
ge & S
ist

four years we have collected 51 accessions

Re
CONSERVATION

uri
c
rita en

from species we consider Critical Conser-

sm on
He Gard

&
vation Accessions. We identified a further 33
accessions from the existing collections as of
similar high value. These are collections with
full provenance and useful genetic diversity
ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENTAL
of taxa at high risk of extinction in the wild in
Research and EDUCATION ESP.
Collections, displays, the next 10 years, or populations at immedi-
teaching support Biodiversity and
habitat content and any ate risk of extinction, where either only a few
other work should populations remain, or the global population
simultaneously meet of the taxon is estimated at fewer than a
multiple strategic thousand individuals. In the Cape, Red List
Sustainable purposes: status and criteria are a supporting guide,
business model but with so many very localised and tiny plant
populations, even Vulnerable species with a
stable population trend over the last 3 gen-
SUBG collection strategy erations, can be at risk of outright extinction
if any further loss happens. Many are not yet
A desirable workplace gation and care needs. Freshly graduated held in any ex situ collection at all.
interns have unexpected benefits. Apart
We are still a small garden, but in mid-2022 from a palpable improvement in team But a tight ex situ conservation focus isn’t
this is more of a strength than a challenge. dynamics, I suspect that the visible presence enough in our context, we also need to
As a team we have tremendous freedom to of a diverse, young and energetic team of influence regional behaviour and appreci-
re-imagine our strategy and work, as long interns in the garden is substantially respon- ation of the value of our plants. Stellenbosch
as we are creating value. Staff positions sible for the massive improvement in visitor University provides a unique opportunity
have been expanded and re-arranged to diversity we’ve seen in the last year. For the for us. Not only do we teach the future
improve strategic skills and team resilience, first time in our history there are more people leaders of our region. This is the university
and a massive increase in intern placements, of colour visiting the garden than white. This of choice for many of the farming commu-
from three to eight Honours and Masters is massively meaningful in an institution that nities, the landowners, communities and
level graduates provides enormous value. was segregated with white only access for families who determine the fate of much of
Being within a university provides a legit- most of our history. However, there is still a the remaining threatened habitat. If we can
imate base for tapping into South Africa’s long way to go, and huge challenges remain attract them into the garden and create
job creation interning programmes. We get to integrate and expand the Eurocentric communication and displays that positively
to advertise and select highly motivated and frameworks of academic botany in a country influence their future attitude and decisions
diverse graduates looking for their first work that actively discounted and exterminated around our threatened lowland floras, that
experience, with more than half of their sti- rich traditional local knowledge. could have tremendous impact. We are also
pend covered externally. Interns get to work engaged with current landscape managers
in a safe, stimulating and diverse environ- Conservation focus and have an opportunity to suggest
ment, with pipelines into the workplace or research projects or taxa to our academics
continued education. For some it’s a place All of this new energy still needs to be care- and students that they might not have con-
to figure out exactly what they want to do fully focused to make a meaningful difference sidered. So to be as effective as possible,
and their next steps. We throw them into for our exceptional flora. We have specifically new collections and displays need to
work that would probably be far more senior chosen to make Target 8 of the 2020 Global achieve all of three goals – hold valuable ex
at other conservation institutions globally – Strategy for Plant Conservation a core man- situ collections, provide general teaching
communication and signage content; acces- date1. The Cape flora and South Africa as a and education opportunities, AND support
sion database updating; plant propagation whole have so many species at extreme risk and engage our academic researchers.
and care, including critically rare collections; of extinction in the wild, and as far as I am Some incredible, established displays
input into new display design and layout; aware, no other institution in the Cape is remain from the early days, such as an East-
and for some, project management. For most explicitly tracking living collection genetic ern Cape Thicket bed with massive old
graduates from botany, conservation ecol- diversity or aiming to meet global best prac- Euphorbias, but in other areas planting is
ogy and science, hands on plant care and tise in genetic representivity in conservation mixed with no clear display intent. As much
having to learn global plant diversity are collections. Because we have limited propa- as possible we are reorganising interesting
exciting and useful new skills. Even horticul- gation and bench space, we also specifically and useful specimens into displays clearly
ture graduates quickly learn how much more target taxa that allow us to grow many plants grouped by habitat or region, or by family
is out there in the vast range of plant propa- in a small space. Most obviously this means or taxon, going back the garden’s roots.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 26

 Cape Threatened Lowland
Habitat displays
Our most threatened nearby habitats are
inaccessible to most people, small rem-
nants surrounded by private property -
farmland or new urban development. As
a result, they are poorly known, even by
environmental decision makers. Many look Critically Endangered Shale Fynbos habitat beds from nearby Gordon's Bay showcase
scrappy and uninviting from a distance, low, seasonally wet and grassy ecosystems, with a large geophyte component.
but they contain spectacular floral diversity.
Our aim is to showcase the plants and
beauty of a range of specific local sites, to
build an emotional connection to these
remnants. And of course, to try and make
the staggering turnover and diversity of
our landscape tangible. The Table Moun-
tain Fund supported this vision and we
started with 6 raised beds representing a
diversity of local threatened habitats. Each
is constructed of the stone that underpins
their unique soils and plant communities.

But this is also an opportunity to meet all

our other strategic focuses. The sites are
carefully selected where multiple ex situ
conservation collections would be of high
value, and the beds themselves can hold
meaningful populations. Only a single
local area is sampled, so even Least Con- Pelargonium fergusoniae is both a Critical Conservation collection and a key display element
cern species serve as research material in another lowland bed that will display Overberg Renosterveld habitat from near Swel-
or restoration motherstock. lendam. Previously only known from five subpopulation with two recently lost to agricultural
development, there is ongoing decline of this species' habitat. This elegant geophytic
The first of these is already planted with species is fortunately easy to hand pollinate and multiply from seed, and matures rapidly.
search and rescue material and site soil We already have mature plants ready for display two years after original collection.
from a Critically Endangered Shale
Fynbos habitat 24km (15mi) away and lost was valuable enough that we also col-
illustrates the potential of such displays. onised 150m2 of campus beds outside the
Two small beds include 9 threatened Life Sciences building to plant with the same
plant species from the site and show that search and rescue material. The raised beds
fynbos can include short shrub and grass bring plant detail closer to eye level and are
dominated habitats, with truly spectacu- located right at our main entrance for maxi-
lar spring geophyte displays. The habitat mum impact.

Further information Dr. Donovan Kirkwood

Stellenbosch University Botanical
• SUBG website: http://www.sun.ac.za/ Garden
english/entities/botanical-garden Stellenbosch, Western Cape 7602
• Our collections online: https://sun.garden- South Africa
explorer.org/
• Our Instagram feed: Instagram.com/sub- ENDNOTE
otgarden 1. Target 8: At least 75 per cent of threatened plant
species in ex situ collections, preferably in the country of
• South African Red List statistics: origin, and at least 20 per cent available for recovery
http://redlist.sanbi.org/stats.php and restoration programmes.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 27

 ARTICLE
Authors: Maximilian Weigend and Cornelia Löhne

BONN UNIVERSITY BOTANIC GARDENS:

A GARDEN DEDICATED TO (MUCH MORE
THAN) PURE BOTANY

View of the glasshouses over the waterlily pond and the borders with hybrid roses (Rosa “Montana”). The entire ensemble was
created during the reconstruction after WWII (Volker Lannert).

Bonn University Botanic Gardens today provides a missions, public engagement, tourism, con-
servation and activities at the science-policy
wide range of services to university, society and the
interface play an ever-increasing role.
international botanic garden community. Activities in
outreach and conservation and at the science-policy “A garden dedicated to pure
botany”
interface keep the gardens relevant and visible at the
The founding director Nees von Esenbeck
beginning of their third century.
was a plant systematist and taxonomist. He
worked on a wide-range of plant families
such as the Poaceae, Lauraceae (Nees von
Introduction mately linked to the university’s history, Esenbeck, 1836) and Asteraceae, publishing
responding to the development of the disci- over 400 new genera and over 7,500 new
onn University Botanic Gardens holds pline of biology and its precursors and species. His vision was to create “a garden

B a collection of over 10,000 plant

species in ca. 13,000 accessions of
wild and cultivated plants from across the
subdisciplines over the past 200 years. Today,
the “Botanische Gärten der Universität Bonn”
is a central unit of Bonn University and its col-
dedicated to pure botany” (Nees von Esen-
beck & Goldfuß 1819, own translation). The
crucial role of the garden for the medical
globe on an overall area of ca. 14 ha at three lections are extensively used in teaching faculty was reflected in the fact that early in
sites. It is one the largest university botanic across three faculties and in botanical its existence it was often referred to as
gardens in Germany and was founded in research, but also in studies on organic chem- hortus medicus. Accordingly, the phar-
1818 simultaneously with Bonn University. istry, plant physiology and other disciplines. maceutical botanist Theodor F. L. Nees von
The development of the garden has been inti- Although research and teaching are the core Esenbeck became the first curator.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) • 28-32 28

Pharmaceutical botany in research and
teaching were of particular importance for
the botanic garden in the 19th century, but
other disciplines, especially physiology and
cell biology as emerging fields, played in an
increasing role in the second half of the 19th
and the first half of the 20th century.

In the early period, the botanic garden was

considered as an exclusive university
resource and access was more or less
restricted to members and students of the
university. The Nees brothers explained:
“The doors are open to scholars and the
dear colleagues, they are closed to the idle
and insolent rabble of promenaders” (Nees
von Esenbeck & Nees von Esenbeck 1823,
own translation).

Towards the end of the 19th century, Eduard

Strasburger took over the direction of the
botanic garden. His garden inspector, Layout of the garden in 1823 (W. Sinning in Nees & Nees, De Cinnamomo Disputatio,
Ludwig Beissner, was a keen dendrologist 1823) a) museum building = palace (aedes musei), b) moat (fossa), c to f) areas for
(Beissner et al., 1903, Beissner, 1909), who various groups of plants, g) arboreta, h) large greenhouse (hibernacula maiora), i) small
planted many of today´s most prominent greenhouse (caldarium minus), k) heating beds (vaporaria), l) uncultivated area in front
trees, especially in the newly added south- of the museum building, m) main gate, to be built later, n) other garden gate.
ern portion of the Schlossgarten. The early
20th century saw the addition of some the interwar period brought a short respite, The economic-botanic garden
thematic areas, such as the first phytogeo- WWII led to wholesale destruction. During (Nutzpflanzengarten)
graphical section as a terraced border along this period, the systematics section was
the castle façade. During WWI, much of the dedicated to growing potatoes and in winter Independently, but adjacent to the botanic
greenhouse collection was lost and although 1944/45 the castle and the greenhouses garden around Poppelsdorf Palace, an
were largely destroyed by shelling. experimental garden with a radically different
mission was founded by the new Higher
In view of these extensive destructions, the Agricultural College at Poppelsdorf in 1847
post-war period started with a discussion to (Gura, 2012). The economic-botanic garden
move the botanic garden to a new site and rapidly developed into an extensive research
the development of a property in the Melb and display facility for economic botany, pres-
valley, about 4 km from the current site, was enting some 600 plant varieties for teaching
initiated. However, this plan was soon aban- and experimentation, including a mulberry
doned and development continued at the plantation for raising silkworms. Extensive
original site, but the property Melbgarten breeding work was carried out, especially on
remained with the botanic garden. The his- pulse crops and cereals. Its extensive teach-
torical areas of the Schlossgarten – ing collection of living and dried plants and
glasshouses, arboreta and the systematics seeds continued to be of considerable impor-
section – were restored, but several additional tance for the students of agriculture when
sections were added, e.g., flower- and fruit- the agricultural academy was incorporated
ecology sections, a rockery as well as into the university in 1934. Its collections
extensive ornamental plantings. As ever, the were considerably increased during the
Sinningia helleri Nees, type species of the bulk of the new garden areas were clearly 1960’s to 80’s, but it gradually lost its impor-
genus Sinningia (Gesneriaceae) named directed towards familiarizing students with tance towards the end of the 20th century.
after the curator Wilhelm Sinning by the different aspects of plant biology. The medici- The living collection was ultimately saved by
founding director Nees von Esenbeck in nal plant collection in the botanic garden inclusion in the central unit (see below).
1825. Raised from seeds received from however, lost its importance after WWII, since Today, Bonn holds of over 2,000 useful
Würzburg Botanical Gardens and a new pharmaceutical-botanic garden with plants, including tropical fruit and spices, but
described from cultivation in Bonn Botanic its own greenhouses was created as a part also local and near-extinct heirloom varieties
Gardens (M. Weigend). of the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology. of beans, lettuce and other vegetables.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 29

Consolidation

Wilhelm Barthlott took over the directorship

of the botanic garden in 1985. Barthlott
initially studied the systematics and taxonomy
of Cactaceae, carnivorous plants and orchids,
which led to a massive build-up of these col-
lections. The main focus was on developing
the greenhouse collections, but other parts
of the garden were also extensively remod-
elled. A most prominent achievement is the
large display of ‘Ecosystems of the Rhine-
land’, presenting both typical and rare species
of the region in a more natural setting, cover-
ing all major habitat types of the region and
reflecting an increasing involvement in plant Large bald cypresses (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.) planted in the early 20th century
conservation. The display of endangered by director Strasburger and his curator Beissner, on the banks of the Melbweiher, raised
plants in a near-natural setting was a huge from seeds brought from South Carolina (M. Weigend)
didactic step forward from the presentation
of rare plants in a kind of cabinet of curiosities. the ‘Lotus effect’, i.e. superhydrophobic sur- extended opening times and events that
The ‘Ecosystems of the Rhineland’ and the faces (Barthlott & Neinhuis 1997). The study actively invited civic society. The creation of
neighbouring systematics section are the of living plants in the garden thus became the Association of Friends as a “booster club”
didactic core of the garden. Both are exten- seminal for biomimetic research, and further in 1989 was a crucial step, playing a critical
sively used in teaching and guided tours to discoveries followed (e.g., the ‘Salvinia effect’, role in raising funds for garden projects. Now-
this day. Barthlott et al., 2010). Barthlott’s research adays, it is of particular importance - outside
also comprised extensive forays into macro- the original remit of science and teaching - in
Barthlott made extensive use of the living ecology and global biodiversity maps, which creating and maintaining visitor infrastructure,
collection for a whole range of scientific ended up becoming a universal tool of biodi- outreach and education programs. A major
studies. He was amongst the first botanists versity communication (Barthlott et al., 2005). shift of paradigm had taken place: From an
to systematically employ Scanning Electron Even more importantly, during Barthlott’s elitist university garden, the botanic garden
Microscopy to study plant microstructures tenure, the attitude towards the public had – while remaining a hub of science and
(Barthlott & Ehler 1977). His observations in changed profoundly: The garden was teaching - become one of the most popular
the garden collections led to the discovery of increasingly opened to the public, with local recreation spots, offering a range of
information and social events for the inter-
ested public. This inevitably led to some
conflicts of interests, especially since the uni-
versity persisted in viewing the gardens as a
resource of, and for, the university.

Bonn University Botanic Gardens

as a Central Unit:

The status of the botanic garden as part of

the faculty of natural sciences was no longer
tenable when the mission was diversified
during the 1990’s to include outreach and
education as well as conservation. Con-
sequently, the Schlossgarten and the, at that
time, orphaned economic-botanic garden
were united in 2002 as a ‘Central Unit’ of
Soybean variety “Schwarze Poppelsdorfer”. the university. Under the new name ‘Bonn
One of the countless varieties of useful University Botanic Gardens’ (Botanische
plant bred in Bonn over the past 200 years, Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) in Gärten der Universität Bonn) the organization
now on the “red list of endangered cultivation at Bonn. Wilhelm Barthlott is led by the garden management, consisting
cultivated plants”. This is one of a number discovered the eponymous “Lotus effect” of the Director (who is also professor at the
of heirloom varieties which are maintained on plants growing at the botanical garden, Nees Institute of Plant Biodiversity), a Vice-
in cultivation at the Bonn University Botanic the starting point of a prolific working Director from the Agricultural Faculty, the
Gardens (M. Weigend). group in biomimetics (C. Löhne). Curator and the Technical Manager.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 30

The Director reports to an advisory board
led by the Dean of Science and the Dean of
Agriculture and includes external represen-
tatives from the city of Bonn, the Association
of Friends, and other research collections.
During the tenure of Director Barthlott, the
garden thus developed into a unit indepen-
dent of the faculties and became a highly
visible public institution, while expanding its
role in both science and teaching. These
developments were followed up as the direc-
torship passed to Maximilian Weigend in
2011. An action plan was developed for the
run-up to the garden’s 200th anniversary in
2018 (Masterplan 2011-2018), systemati-
cally integrating the diversified missions of
the Central Unit. The three sites with their
different histories and collections, namely the
Schlossgarten as the historical core, the
Nutzpflanzengarten with its economic
botany collection, and the Melbgarten as a
hitherto poorly developed third site, were Current layout of the Botanical Garden
assigned complementary specializations. In (Palace Garden and Useful Plants). After
2014, the botanic gardens re-absorbed the 200 years, a representative main entrance
collections and staff of the pharmaceutical- was created from the “avant court”.
botanic garden, that had led an independent
life for the previous 50 years. gardens only administered nowadays by uni-
versities such as those of Berlin or Munich).
The revised charter of 2014 finally acknowl- Bonn University Botanic Gardens also have
edged the expansion of the garden missions: a unique mixed heritage with a strong history
“The botanic gardens serve science and in pharmacology and classical botany (sys-
teaching. Additionally, they contribute to the tematics, taxonomy, morphology, ecology),
conservation of species and biodiversity. The but also economic botany. The make-up of
botanic gardens particularly facilitate teach- today´s collection is reflected in this legacy,
ing material to the botanical and with an extensive useful plant collection of laboration with conservation agencies,
pharmaceutical institutes of the Faculty of over 2,000 accessions, in addition to the propagating material for reintroduction into
Natural Sciences and the institutes of the 11,000 accessions of the main collection. the wild. Garden collections are increasingly
Agricultural Faculty and they provide ser- Providing plant material for research and integrated into national germplasm collec-
vices for the fulfilment of the missions of the teaching remains the core mission: each year tions, inter alia under the umbrella of the
Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University the gardens provide several thousand plants Federal Ministry of Agriculture, with the
Bonn according to § 3 HG. The botanic and plant parts for classes across 20 insti- Magnolia collection as the first collection for-
gardens serve as space for teaching and tutes in the faculties of Natural Sciences, mally recognized in 2022.
learning for the members of Bonn university Agriculture and Medicine. The collections of
and – beyond that – as a place of instruction the gardens remain central to research carried The gardens also continue to be a focus of
for the general public” (own translation, out in the biological institutes – first and fore- public interest – they are open 6 days a
Charter of 27.08.2014, University of Bonn most the Nees Institute for Plant Biodiversity, week, welcoming over 170,000 “idle and
2014). From the wording it is immediately but also in, e.g., pharmacology, organic chem- insolent perambulators” each year. The infra-
clear that conservation is at long last recog- istry, plant physiology and palaeontology. structure was adjusted accordingly: A new
nized in its importance, but also that public main entrance from the avant-cour was
outreach remains an afterthought. The living collections in Bonn were started finally opened in 2018 (it was planned in
by an exchange with other botanic gardens 1823). Visitor infrastructure and information
Where we stand today and this exchange remains a mainstay of have been continuously expanded and an
garden activities: In a typical year, Bonn Uni- up-to-date website went online in 2021.
University botanic gardens develop in a uni- versity Botanic Gardens sends out over The recent addition of another 2ha plot to
versity ecosystem. Bonn University Botanic 3,000 seed lots to over 200 institutions the Melbgarten provides extra space for the
Gardens are a special case, representing the worldwide. Additionally, the garden main- planned expansion of the conservation of
largest genuine university botanic garden in tains an ex situ conservation programme of heirloom varieties, especially of traditional
Germany (as opposed to state botanic regionally endangered species in close col- fruit trees of the Rhineland.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 31

This reflects a tremendous public interest in situation of university botanic gardens, which • Barthlott, W., Mutke, J., Rafiqpoor, M.D.,
the topic, underscored by federal initiatives usually have a strong emphasis on science Kier, G. & Kreft, H. 2005. Global centres
for the preservation of heirloom varieties. It and teaching, distinguishes them from bot- of vascular plant diversity. Nova Acta Leo-
represents a logical extension of the econ- anical gardens under different supporting poldina 92: 61-83.
omic botany collection. organizations such as cities, private founda-
tions or federal institutions. • Barthlott, W. & Neinhuis, C. 1997. Purity
Conclusion: of the sacred lotus, or escape from con-
Despite the limitations imposed by this spe- tamination in biological surfaces. Planta
Just like any botanic garden, Bonn University cific situation, Bonn University Botanic 202: 1–8.
Botanic Gardens operates in a specific Gardens have been able to experience a
institutional environment. Mission and gov- fruitful interaction of science and teaching • Barthlott, W., Schimmel, T., Wirsch, S.,
ernance of the gardens are spelt out by the in a unique horticultural setting under the Koch, K., Brede, M., Barczewski, M., Wal-
charter, vividly illustrating the expectations umbrella of Bonn University for the past 200 heim, S., Weis, A., Kaltenmaier, A., Leder,
of the university. There has been a focus – years. Against some systemic resistance and A. & Bohn, H.F. 2010. The Salvinia para-
consistently along our entire history – on pro- with patience and dedication, Bonn Univer- dox: Superhydrophobic surfaces with
viding the best possible service in research sity Botanic Gardens have maintained a hydrophilic pins for air-retention under
and teaching. Other engagements – out- dynamic development over the past dec- water. Adv. Mater. 22: 2325-2328.
reach, conservation, public engagement – ades, providing a widening range of services
have to take second place. This concerns the to university, society and the international • Beissner, L. 1909: Handbuch der Nadel-
varied expectations of a range of external botanic garden community. It has been holzkunde. 2nd Edition. Berlin: Parey.
stakeholders: the municipality, the general possible to develop activities in outreach and 742 pp.
public, the media, political parties, govern- conservation and at the science-policy inter-
ment agencies and national and international face, keeping the gardens relevant and • Beissner, L., Schelle, E. & Zabel, H. 1903.
non-governmental organizations. An expan- visible at the beginning of their third century. Handbuch der Laubholz-Benennung.
sion of visitor infrastructure, extended Diverging from the founding director’s Berlin: Parey. 625 pp.
opening times, public events, an education dictum, it is now dedicated to much more
programme, press releases, information than pure botany. • Gura, S. 2012. Der Nutzpflanzengarten
systems and the participation in discussions der Botanischen Gärten Bonn. Rheinische
on biodiversity loss and climate change are References: Heimatpflege 49: 101-112.
all directed towards at least tentatively meet-
ing these expectations. The “booster club” is • Barthlott, W. & Ehler, N. 1977. Raster- • Nees von Esenbeck, C.G.D 1836. Sys-
of particular importance in this context, since Elektronenmikroskopie der Epidermis- tema laurinarum. Berolini: Sumptibus
it provides additional resources – both vol- Oberflächen von Spermatophyten. Stutt- Veitii et Sociorum. 726 pp.
unteers and financial means. The specific gart: F. Steiner. 105 pp.
• Nees von Esenbeck, C.G.D. & Goldfuß,
G.A. 1819. Etwas über die naturwissen-
schaftlichen Anstalten zu Poppelsdorf.
Jahrb. Preuß. Rhein-Universität 1: 45–57.

• Nees von Esenbeck, C.G.D. & Nees von

Esenbeck, T.L.F. 1823. De cinnamomo
disputatio. Bonn. 74 pp.

• University of Bonn. 2014. Amtliche

Bekanntmachungen 44. Jahrgang,
Nr. 25. 7 pp. Available at:
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11811/297.

Maximilian Weigend
Bonn University Botanic Gardens
Meckenheimer Allee 171
D-53115 Bonn, Germany

View over the oldest part of the “economic botanic garden” in 2010. Display of herbs,
vegetables and cereals in the foreground and one of the greenhouses in the background
(Thomas Niemtz)

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 32

 ARTICLE
Authors: Hernán Ariel López,, Javier Gatica, Franco Aquistepache, Maira Kraser,
Agustín Raniolo, Lucia Galera, Luciana Campos and Leonardo Datri

THE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF THE CITY

OF PLOTTIER (JBCP), A CASE OF MIXED
UNIVERSITY-MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
GOVERNANCE IN ARGENTINA
The Botanical Garden of the City of Plottier (JBCP) is a recent institution, active for 18
months, whose governance scheme follows the mixed system between a university and a
municipal government, as described in BGCI’s botanic garden manual. (Gratzfield, 2016)

Introduction

he JBCP has the mission to represent

T the native flora of the province of

Neuquén, which is located in the north
of the Argentine Patagonia. The botanical
garden has an educational, recreational, con-
servation and research function. In the
provincial region of Neuquén there are 1,322
species of vascular plants, of which 35 are
exclusively endemic species. It is an aim of
the garden to cultivate and carry out ex situ
conservation of these endemic species. Cur-
rently the living collection of the botanical
garden is made up of 100 species, the
number of which is continually increasing.

The botanical garden was established in

2020, coinciding with the start of the Covid
pandemic. In Argentina, a rigorous quaran-
tine was implemented and the botanical
garden was initially developed in circum-
stances which required permits for the
movement of workers and visits to the site.
After its opening during a quarantine period,
it was one of the few botanical gardens in
Argentina to be open under such difficult
circumstances.

Governance is through a coordinating com-

mittee made up of a representative of the
municipal government and a member of the
university institution. The coordinating com-
mittee acts symbiotically, with both
members supporting each other and bene-
Inflorescences of Buddleja globosa Hope (Scrophulariaceae) a species native to the province fitting through the development of the
of Neuquén (Argentina), part of the living collection of the Botanical Garden. botanical garden.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) • 33-35 33

The role of the University

During the design period, the University of

Flores formed an interdisciplinary team
made up of architects, ecologists and botan-
ists that carried out pre-operational tasks
such as preparing the botanical garden man-
agement plan, the design of primary and
secondary trails, main access signage and
thematic areas, as well as identifying species
and the botanical proposal of the living col- Access gate, originally designed by members of the University of Flores (LEB Laboratory).
lection. In a later stage, through new This visit to the Botanical Garden was made during the Covid period. Guided by Marcos
agreements, the university institution offers Garcia (EDEP) and Hernán López (UFLO)
the service of curatorship in the administra-
tion of the garden. (IPSN), organized by BGCI for the purpose
of reporting the behavior of pests and dis-
The tasks of the curator include generating eases of certain plant species.
management policies and establishing the
guidelines for the organization of the them- Additionally, the university institution has
atic areas of the garden. Additionally, the presented the development and activity of
curator offers technical advice and provides the botanical garden at national and inter-
guidance to the staff of the municipality who national scientific congresses and meetings
perform maintenance tasks and train tourism and has applied to various sources of financ-
personnel in order to promote the site. The ing to strengthen the activities implemented
Curator also offers scientific, botanical and by the garden, some of which have been
design support, manages the database of granted and others are under evaluation.
the living collection, administers a germplasm
bank, offers extension talks about the native One of the tasks of the botanical garden has
flora, conducts guided visits to support insti- been the transfer of botanical knowledge to
tutional educational activities, as well as the community, this has been done with the
generating links with the Argentine Network assistance of the NGO Semana del Arbol, par- Floating platform for bird watching on the
of Botanic Gardens (RAJB), the South Ameri- ticipating in webinars on the following topics: "Elena" lagoon. Originally designed by
can Network of Botanic Gardens (RSJB), the members of Universidad de Flores. (LEB,
Native Plant Nursery Network (REVINA) and • “Biological aspects of a native Willow, laboratory)
with BGCI, of which the garden is a member. restoration of the species” (López, 2020),
It is hoped soon to be able to participate in which deals with the biological aspects characteristics and their distribution,
the International Plant Sentinel Network of Salix humboldtiana, a species that is useful information to start ex situ conser-
conserved in situ by the botanical garden; vation tasks in the institution; and

• “Native orchids of the province of • “Recognizing the families of Neuquén

Neuquén” (López 2021a), where knowl- vascular flora” (López, 2022), which aims
edge is given of the 19 species of native to highlight the diversity of vascular plants
terrestrial orchids that are found in the present in the region in order to help with
province of Neuquén and that are their recognition.
expected to be cultivated and conserved
ex situ in the garden; Furthermore, the JBCP has participated in
Fascination of Plants Day, an international
• “Discovering the species of Bougainvillea initiative, where the observation of plant diver-
(Nyctaginaceae)” (López, 2021b), which sity has been promoted with the community.
deals with the worldwide recognized
species of this genus of Nyctaginaceae The University of Flores carries out scientific
of which some species are cultivated and studies on the wetland that is located within
conserved in situ by the garden; the garden, making observations on the level
of the water table and seasonal studies of
• “Contribution to the knowledge of the presence of bird species. 83 species of
Neuquén endemic species” (López, birds have been registered throughout the
Planting of new species carried out jointly 2021c). which deals with the exclusively year at this site and it is a site of interest for
with the community endemic species of the province, their bird watching in the province of Neuquén.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 34

 It is our hope that the Botanical Garden of
the City of Plottier can continue its devel-
opment, supported by different government
efforts, so that this green infrastructure is
preserved for the city, and allowing biodi-
versity to be known, appreciated and
conserved by the community.

References

• Gratzfeld, J. (Ed). 2016. From Idea to Real-

isation- BGCI´s Manual on Planning,
Developing and Managing Botanic
Gardens. Botanical Garden Conservation
International. Richmond. United Kingdom.

• Lopez, H. A. 2020. Biological aspects

of a native Willow, restoration of the
species. On line Source: https://www.you-
tube.com/watch?v=o61QGYpMJhE&ab_ch
Inflorescences of Berberis darwinii Hook. (Berberidaceae) a species native to the province annel=SemanadelArbol.
of Neuquén (Argentina), part of the living collection of the Botanical Garden.
• López H. A. 2021a. Native orchids of the
The role of the Municipality Once permission was given for educational province of Neuquén. On line source:
organizations to re-start outings after the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlZ8y
The Municipality provided the political will for lifting of Covid restrictions, the botanical jKufBM&ab_channel=SemanadelArbol.
the development of the botanical garden and, garden was visited by around 50 school
through the activities of the Economic Devel- groups, with about 2,000 students being • López H. A. 2021b. Discovering
opment Entity of the City of Plottier (EDEP), able to take guided tours and have contact the species of Bougainvillea
supports the activities of the Garden, provid- with nature again. They were able to (Nyctaginaceae). On line source:
ing personnel to carry out periodic cleaning appreciate the flora and fauna of the place https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlZ8yj
and maintenance of the garden. They have on their first community outings after a long KufBM&ab_channel=SemanadelArbol.
also made identification signs for the plants, period of isolation.
constructed the access gateway and provided • López H. A. 2021c. Contribution to
the floating bird viewpoint in the Lagoon that The botanical garden has now become a the knowledge of Neuquén endemic
borders the botanical garden. Benches have relevant green infrastructure, with its posi- species. On line source: https://www.you-
recently been placed along the 2000 meters tion within an urban space in continuous tube.com/watch?v=aHHycC2m_Fw&ab_c
of the main path of the garden. Periodic activ- development, providing various ecosystem hannel=SemanadelArbol.
ities carried out in the botanical garden are services to the community. It has become
shared with the community to build a sense a place for tourists and educational visits, • López H. A. 2022. Recognizing the families
of it belonging to all. Here the members of and it played a significant role in the well- of Neuquén vascular flora. On line source:
the EDEP assist participants or organize the being of the community during the Covid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiKpwi
groups of Botanical Garden volunteers. pandemic. Xiq7A&ab_channel=SemanadelArbol.

Building the profile of the garden Conclusions Hernán Ariel López

Taller Multidisciplinario de Plantas
The botanical garden has a Google maps The botanical garden is in continuous devel- Vasculares (TMPV) and Curador
page, where photographs, comments and opment; the support of both institutions that del Jardín Botánico de la ciudad
news from both the administration and the make up this mixed governance scheme will de Plottier (JBCP).
visitors themselves are posted. This medium certainly help strengthen its progress as it Laboratorio de Ecología de
helps to encourage visitors to the garden. works to achieve its objectives and mission. Bordes (LEB),
According to analysis of this page, it can be The future plans and activities of the garden Universidad de Flores Sede
seen that the place is visited by an average are focused on continuing to develop the Comahue (UFLO).
of 23,000 people each month. Their photos living collections; enclosing the property;
show numerous visualizations, indicating that consolidating the main path; and generating
they are visiting several localities in the region the infrastructure and facilities to support
and some come from distant places, integrat- the actions required to apply for BGCI
ing the garden among their tourist options. Botanic Garden Accreditations.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 35

 ARTICLE
Authors: Santiago Bravo-Sánchez, Rafael Suárez-López and Francisco Sánchez-Parrales

The Botanic Garden is the setting for educational projects that integrate different degrees. Students from Tourism, Social
Communication and Nursing participated in this activity.

PADRE JULIO MARRERO BOTANIC GARDEN:

A UNIVERSITY BOTANIC GARDEN IN ECUADOR
The Padre Julio Marrero Botanic Garden provides a focal
point for university students and teachers across a range
of disciplines, providing a valued open-air teaching space
and promoting environmental values.

Introduction requires a wide range of actions that go far grams that aim to reach wide audiences
beyond biological research and involves all through different types of activities. As a
he conservation of biodiversity is a types of institutions. result, they have played a prominent role in

T fundamental objective of botanic

gardens around the world, and a task
in which they are playing a key role. This
The importance of education
spreading messages such as the importance
of plants in underpinning ecosystems and
supporting human well-being, the relevance
wide-ranging mission involves not only halt- Conservation, as a long-term goal, cannot and role of biological diversity in the sys-
ing and reversing the loss of species, but be achieved without giving particular atten- temic balance of our planet, and the need
also includes limiting the loss of plant genetic tion to education. Botanic gardens have for a restructuring of our societies on the
diversity and preventing the degradation of made significant progress in environmental basis of environmental, economic and social
natural ecosystems. Achieving this goal education, being pioneers in innovative pro- sustainability.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) • 36-38 36

Modern botanic gardens have their origins
in the medicinal plant gardens associated
with the medical faculties of European
universities in the Middle Ages and the
Renaissance. Today, while the main objec-
tive of the modern botanic gardens is
conservation, the implicit links to education
have strengthened their bonds with
universities.

The Botanic Garden

The Padre Julio Marrero Botanic Garden was

created in 1999 through the initiative of the
Bishopric of Santo Domingo in Ecuador. It
has since become part of the Pontifical Cath-
olic University of Ecuador, Santo Domingo
Campus. It is located in the north of the
Ecuadorian Coast region, close to the
Andean slopes. This area belongs to the bio- A panoramic view in the Botanic Garden
geographical Chocó region, a biodiversity
hotspot, though threatened by deforestation. The possibility of carrying out activities degree theses of different subjects, and the
In fact, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas is developed under non-traditional pedagogi- Botanic Garden has benefited from this. For
one of the areas with the highest population cal criteria, as well as being able to practice example, it obtained its own corporate
growth in the country, and the city is today outside the classroom, has been valued very image (logo) designed as part of a Graphic
the fourth largest in the country by popu- positively by both students and teachers. Design dissertation, has been involved in
lation, with around half a million inhabitants. For example, in the case of the Basic Edu- the development of environmental education
In addition, tropical rainforests have been cation degree, the possibility of carrying out programs, and developed strategies related
replaced by pastures and croplands, as the environmental education activities with kids to the communication or the management
region's agricultural productivity has led to has allowed students to establish contacts of visitors, among others.
the expansion of the agricultural frontier. and develop their skills beyond the educa-
tional institutions in which they carry out The botanic garden has also been a meeting
Linkages with the University their internships. place for other educational institutions. In
addition to the frequent visits of primary and
From the beginning, the Padre Julio Marrero Throughout its history, the Padre Julio Mar- secondary school students, with whom dif-
Botanic Garden has maintained a close link rero Botanic Garden has played an ferent environmental education programs
with the rest of the Pontifical Catholic Uni- important role in research, especially the have been developed, it has also collab-
versity of Ecuador, Santo Domingo Campus. training elements, of the Pontifical Catholic orated with other universities from the city
Although this university does not offer University of Ecuador, Santo Domingo of Santo Domingo, or even from other cities
degrees in the field of natural sciences, and Campus. It has provided the context for in the country.
despite not being located close to the main
campus, a number of different academic
activities have developed. Indeed, the
Botanic Garden has provided a valuable
space for the university community for the
development of all kinds of activities. This
includes practical lessons or activities in the
context of many different subjects from dif-
ferent courses, ranging from tourism to
graphic design. For example, one of the
latest environmental education projects,
aimed at 12-year-old students, has brought
together students from the subjects of Ecol-
ogy and Education, Didactics of Language
and Literature, and Body Expression. Those
students, who study the Basic Education
degree, have been in charge of designing
and developing the workshops. A student of the Basic Education degree carrying out an activity with school students

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 37

One of the environmental educators of the Botanic Garden giving an explanation about botany.

In that sense, the Padre Julio Marrero Botanic ence to the University, it is true that the cir- isations such as BGCI or the South American
Garden has coordinated and participated in cumstances of this one have had Network of Botanical Gardens is an impor-
the development of research projects, pre- repercussions in our Botanic Garden. Thus, tant endorsement for the Padre Julio Marrero
professional practices or other types of the needs of the Botanic Garden have not Botanic Garden, not only with regard to the
internships, usually in the context of courses always been at the forefront, and its objec- University, but also with local society.
in the area of natural sciences. For example, tives have had to be reoriented according
the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador to circumstances. Likewise, not all the people Conclusion
Santo Domingo Campus has collaborated who make up the University, including
with the Quito and Ibarra campuses, as well teachers and students, have understood the In short, the Padre Julio Marrero Botanic
as with the Technical Particular University importance and mission of the Botanic Garden, has been a meeting place for the
of Loja in research projects about Bixa orel- Garden, or even the overall concept of bot- different faculties of the University to which
lana or the Geonoma genus. anical gardens. it belongs, facilitating the integration of
multidisciplinary knowledge and involving
Overcoming challenges “the general lack of institutional support for students and future professionals in a journey
Ecuadorian botanic gardens correlates with with a strong socio-environmental commit-
The work of the Botanic Garden has not a lack of awareness of their relevance ment. Although the path is not without
always been easy. The lack of courses amongst the general public” difficulties, the development of new projects
related to biodiversity conservation has and joint work with other universities and
made it difficult to generate and implement However, in such circumstances, universities international institutions will allow the scope
initiatives focused on that issue. And are one of the few forms of survival for of its actions to expand, with the aim of
although the Botanic Garden owes its exist- botanical gardens. And belonging to organ- achieving its mission as a botanic garden.

Santiago Bravo-Sánchez
Padre Julio Marrero Botanic
Garden,
Pontifical Catholic University
of Ecuador

View of the Padre Julio Marrero

Botanic Garden

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 38

 ARTICLE
Author: Chantal Dugardin

EDUCATION AND RESEARCH AT THE

GHENT UNIVERSITY BOTANICAL GARDEN
A DAY IN THE LIFE
OF A UNIVERSITY
BOTANICAL GARDEN

Introduction

May 2022: a nice sunny day and

15 the garden is buzzing with

young voices. On this typical
spring morning groups of scholars are fol-
lowing a guide towards the workshop room
while others are swarming around trying to
locate specific plants. Students in white lab-
oratory coats are performing limnology
experiments and all seem to be very focused
and enthusiastic. Even though the Ghent Uni-
versity Botanic Garden, in Belgium, celebrates
its 225th birthday this year, it has not lost its
attraction to plant-loving youngsters.

A bit of history

The garden was founded at the end of the

18th century (1797), predating Ghent Uni-
versity by 20 years. Being part of a central
school, which also featured a library and a
laboratory, the new botanical garden organ-
ized lessons in botany and horticulture and
supported the rise of the golden age of hor-
ticulture in Ghent. It raised many famous
horticulturalists and nurserymen who settled
in the area during the 19th and 20th century.

Although the botanical garden nowadays

mostly focuses on wild plants, the link with
the local horticultural community and horti-
cultural research institutions has been
maintained and the garden takes part in the
celebration of the Ghent Floralies every four
years. In the most recent edition (May 2022)
the garden showcased the current devel-
opments in horticultural research (breeding,
climate change, biological pest control, urban
greenery) as well as the relationship of
High school scholars searching for water organisms (Chantal Dugardin) humans with nature.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) • 39-41 39

Collections as a backbone collections and learn how to maintain
healthy plants, using diverse horticultural
As in any typical university garden, space is techniques and understand biological pest
rather scarce. The garden is situated on the control. International Erasmus+ trainees and
edge of a public park and the complete area PhD students are also welcomed to get an
is no more than 2.75 ha. Still, it features insight in the management of a botanical
4,000 m² of greenhouses and houses living collection or are trained to perform molecular
collections of around 10,000 well-docu- work in the laboratory.
mented taxa. Each year, approximately
1,500 university and college students per- Molecular research – a joint effort
form practical exercises and follow courses
in the garden as part of their university cur- In the molecular lab, Kate is performing the
riculum. Today, a class of future biologists final tests on Magnolia samples. She hopes
learns about plant morphology, phylogeny to finish her master’s thesis script in the
and ecology, while a bit further away, future summer. The garden benefits from its prox-
horticultural architects get acquainted with imity to the molecular laboratory and
the best plants to survive the changing cli- scientists in order to perform DNA-studies.
matic conditions in a garden. Some students The laboratory was set up more than 10
are wandering about, using the living plants years ago as a joint venture with different
for self-study, preparing for their final tests research groups. In order to learn basic mol-
at the end of the academic semester. ecular techniques, bachelor students perform
small tests to identify ‘mystery plants’ in the
In the basement of the main building, no garden. Those plants, of which the labels or
less than 300,000 herbarium specimens origin got lost in time, are used as examples
offer the opportunity for students to use to determine the plant family or genus. View of the big pond with the
this collection for their exercises and bach- Rhododendron collection and arboretum
elor and master theses. The herbarium Thanks to the financial support of the Frank- (Chantal Dugardin
collections are steadily growing due to linia Foundation, the botanical garden is able
specimens and DNA-samples collected on to participate in this molecular work and knowledge, protocols and guidelines obtained
numerous field trips. The herbarium room share the equipment and knowledge on how from the research are then shared with local
has recently been renovated and a special to address genetic questions supporting in organizations or students who translate them
consulting room has been created, to facili- situ plant conservation projects. The scien- into concrete actions in the field. For this
tate future research. tific research in the garden currently focuses research, the Botanical Garden cooperates
on two plant groups: Magnolia (Magnolia- with the Instituto de Ecologia (A.C., Mexico).
Not only are biologists or archeologists ceae) and Boswellia (Burseraceae). Prof. Dr. Marie-Stéphanie Samain (Instituto
intrigued by the preserved specimens. In a de Ecologia, A.C. and guest professor at the
recent heritage project, IT-specialists, The molecular research on Magnolia species Ghent University) takes part in the Global
botanists and historians joined forces, of Central America helps to unravel the rela- Conservation Consortia Conservation Gen-
enabling us to digitize historical herbarium tionships in this group and supports local etics Working Group and the Global
books dating from the nineteenth century. conservation of threatened species. The Conservation Consortium for Magnolia.
The project provided us with an insight into
the evolution of regional biodiversity over
the last 200 years and has led to further
historical research into the reasons for the
steep decline of the regional flora.

Training to become a botanist or

a horticulturalist

Leonard, a German trainee, and Bart, his

Belgian counterpart, are working side by
side in the arboretum. The botanical garden
has a history of offering traineeships to stu-
dents of different levels. Bachelor students
(studying green management or plant man-
agement) are especially welcomed to
spend up to four months in the garden.
They assist the staff with the care of living Trainees and PhD students at ‘Biodiversity Day 2022’ (Chantal Dugardin)

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 40

 which opened its doors onto the garden site
two years ago, currently coordinates the edu-
cational programme of both museum and
botanical garden. The museum themes
(chaos, model, creativity, etc.) are chosen to
help visitors get an insight into the mind of a
scientist. They show how science is carried
out and help people to understand how
science evolves over time. The big glass win-
dows on the museum’s first floor open onto
the systematic section in the botanical
garden, combining the theme ‘chaos and
classification’ of the museum with the ‘clas-
Future horticultural architects following a guided tour (Chantal Dugardin) sification of plants according to APG’
outdoors. The museum combines art with
Dr. Kay Van Damme coordinates a project for test on tree pollen, which supposedly con- science and is especially appealing to a
the conservation of endemic and threatened tains a lot of nitrogen, while Lydia has started younger public (18-25).
frankincense trees (Boswellia) on the Socotra a new experiment on the occurrence of
Archipelago (Yemen). The project runs in bumble bees in the garden. A limnology class Supporting plant conservation
cooperation with the Mendel University (Brno, is performing a one-week traineeship using activities through the Botanical
Czech Republic) (main coordinator), Bot- the garden ponds; the water in the ponds is Garden Fund
anical Garden of Rome, La Sapienza known to be very clear and contains a lot of
University (Italy), the Royal Botanic Garden life. Students are setting up their makeshift Through the help of a private investor, the
of Edinburgh (United Kingdom), Wageningen laboratory at the garden entrance and are botanical garden was able to establish the
University & Research (the Netherlands), taking water samples for further investigation. Botanical Garden Fund Gabriëlle De Waele,
Oman Botanic Garden (Yemen) and local It was through studies such as this that two in order to support conservation research
organizations and families. Local people on years ago, two new parasitic nematodes on endangered taxa and to enhance public
Socotra lead this project on the ground, pro- were found in the garden soil. awareness of the richness, opportunities and
tecting frankincense trees in nature and threats to botanical biodiversity. The fund
replanting the trees themselves. Special programmes for high also allows us to communicate the results
school scholars of scientific research to the public. In this
Biodiversity experiments way we hope to improve the well-being of
A group of high school scholars who are wait- humans and plants alike.
Apart from the in-depth studies, the garden ing to start their own guided tour are
also provides the perfect setting for all kinds attracting attention. Being part of a university,
of biodiversity experiments. Research groups the garden focuses its educational pro- Together with the GUM (Ghent Univer-
or individual researchers find their way into gramme mainly on 15–18-year-olds. Once sity Museum) and the University Archive
the garden to perform experiments involving you get their attention these pupils are very the Botanical Garden forms a central
the living collections or using the infrastruc- motivated. The garden programme fills in the department in the Ghent University. The
ture. For example, Arno has just finished a gaps in the school curriculum, with teachers mission of the Ghent University Bot-
being offered activities which are related to anical Garden is to provide a place of
the school curriculum but are difficult to tackle education, scientific research, recreation
within the confines of a classroom. and beauty. The garden provides
healthy, well-maintained and well-docu-
Today’s group is acting as ‘biological warriors’ mented living plant collections. It holds
trying to combine the knowledge of plants, an accreditation as a botanic garden and
pests and their natural enemies. They are conservation practitioner (BGCI) as well
searching for pests which they can match as an accreditation of ArbNet (Level IV).
later-on with the correct natural enemies It is a member of the Belgian Botanic
using an identification key and a microscope. Gardens Association (VBTA) and BGCI
and is an official Flemish heritage
Stack of bones museum (Belgium).

Some visitors are staring up at the stack of

bones which has been drawn on the garden Chantal Dugardin
wall. It is an impressive mural by the street Ghent University Botanical Garden
Students performing limnology artist ROA, which marks the entrance to the K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35,
experiments (Chantal Dugardin) GUM (Ghent University Museum). The GUM, B-9000 Gent, Belgium

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 41

 ARTICLE
Author: Carolina Rosales de Zea

Architectural art in the botanical garden (Ixchel Maldonado)

A HUNDRED YEARS OF NATURE AND HISTORY:

THE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF THE UNIVERSITY
OF SAN CARLOS DE GUATEMALA
Introduction to rebuild the school and instead donated ferred to the Faculty of Chemical Sciences
the land to the only government university, and Pharmacy in 1958 and since 1981 it has
he Botanical Garden of the University the University of San Carlos de Guatemala, been incorporated as a unit of the Center for

T of San Carlos of Guatemala (USCG)

celebrates its centenary this year. It
opened its doors for the first time on
for the construction of the garden.

100 years ago, this garden was located in

Conservation Studies of the same faculty,
which also manages 7 protected areas of the
Guatemalan national system.
December 27, 1922, in honor of the centen- the suburbs of what was once a small Guate-
ary of the birth of Louis Pasteur. There had malan city. Now it provides one of the few
been several previous attempts to establish green areas accessible to the public in the
the garden and it was finally achieved thanks commercial and hotel zone of the city. Sur-
to the efforts of the authorities of the Faculties rounded by private properties, there are no
of Medicine and Chemical Sciences and Phar- possibilities to expand its size (1.7 hectares).
macy of the University.
The early years
The site of the garden was previously occu-
pied by a school for boys destined to learn In the first years after its foundation, the
technical and manual jobs. Following its administration of the Garden was mainly the
destruction by the earthquakes of 1917 and responsibility of various University depart-
1918, the president of the Republic of ments, but also with some external input. Pouteria sapota, a tropical fruit in the
Guatemala, Dr. Carlos Herrera, decided not However, responsibility was definitively trans- collection (Albina López)

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) • 42-44 42

 Ceiba pentandra – the national tree of
Guatemala (Albina López)

Conservation Studies, the administrator of

protected areas. Through his efforts, in 1971,
the disciple of biology, previously unavailable
in Guatemala, was established in two univer-
sities, (one governmental and one private). He
also created a research office and a scientific
research fund at the University of San Carlos.

On June 16, 1981, during a period of civil

unrest, Mario Dary Rivera was elected
Rector of the University of San Carlos de
Guatemala, leaving the Botanical Garden
administration. Unfortunately, shortly after-
wards, the political persecution suffered by
university students and professors reached
him, and he was assassinated on December
15, 1981. In his honor, the day of the Guate-
malan biologist is celebrated on his birthday,
February 21.

Recent developments

The country's civil war deeply affected the

University and there was a marked slow-
down in the development of the Garden in
scientists of the 20th century. He was in the years that followed. However, despite
charge for 34 years and selected many of some difficulties, with the start of the new
the species that still make up the collection. century, we are now advancing and devel-
Due to his efforts, Ceiba pentandra (L.) oping our activities as part of the government
Gaertn was declared the national tree, and University - research, teaching and commu-
the Guatemalan five-cent coins bear the nity service.
image of this tree. Ulises received an hon-
orary degree from the University of San Research at the Garden is directed, priorit-
Carlos and received the highest honorary ized, and represented in the USCG
distinction awarded by the Guatemalan gov- herbarium. The herbarium was created in
ernment, the Order of the Quetzal. 1923 and currently has 47,900 specimens,
including some important historical collec-
The Austrian botanist Elfriede Pöll (1922- tions such as those of Ulises Rojas Bendfeldt
2021) managed the herbarium and the Index and Rafael Tejada Aguirre.
Squirrels in the botanical garden (Jorge Seminum from 1967 until the mid-1980s.
Maldonado) She designed and built, with the gardening The herbarium also has valuable collections
staff, at least half of the alleys and plant beds such as those of macro fungi and Guatema-
The Botanical Garden flourished under the and made numerous expeditions to enrich the lan oaks that are the result of the last fifteen
University administration, thanks to the dedi- collections. She was distinguished by the years of work of its research team. Changes
cation of its first directors, who were eminent Guatemalan government with the Science in the composition of species of macro fungi
scientists and visionaries, and who were and Technology medal for her contributions over time reflect changes in land use and
devoted to the Garden and the University. to research and was also honored with the habitat loss and can also be used as indica-
The main avenues of the Botanical Garden Order of the Quetzal. tors of climate change in different
are named after three directors in recognition ecosystems of the country.
of their important contributions: Ulises Rojas The pharmacist and entomologist Mario Dary
Bendfeldt, Elfriede Pöll and Mario Dary Rivera. Rivera (1928-1981) was the Garden’s direc- Regarding the oaks, studies have been car-
tor until 1981. As a great visionary, ried out on their diversity and distribution,
Ulises Rojas Bendfeldt (1881-1959) was administrator and politician, he successfully uses, cultural value, their state of conser-
the first director of the Garden and was con- established the University’s system of pro- vation and vulnerability, as well as the
sidered one of the country’s most renowned tected areas, as well as the Center for associated vegetation and fungi.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 43

 all educational levels and admit visitors from
all over the country. We have the support
of a team of twelve committed and faithful
volunteers who have been collaborating
with us for between five and fifteen years.
At the moment this program is closed due
to the Covid pandemic.

The average number of annual visitors

before the pandemic was 16,500 people a
year, mainly children from educational insti-
tutions between the ages of 7 and 15. Over
the past ten years we have also developed
environmental education activities aimed at
families, to encourage love of the biological
diversity of this megadiverse country and to
promote the science carried out by Guate-
malan biologists.

Several of our activities are now replicated

A break in the middle of the city (Jorge Maldonado) by other institutions, which encourages us
to create new ideas and spaces to dissemi-
New research projects Many of the students learn by working as nate and popularize science.
assistants in our studies and several are
The Botanical Garden is now resuming some mentored in their final graduation projects. Without a doubt, the permanence of the
of the activities that had been discontinued, Botanical Garden for a century has been due
such as research on native fruits and seeds. As part of our work with the community, we to its association with the government Uni-
In 2011, a reference carpological collection are carrying out an educational project on the versity. Although its budget is low, it
was established with research materials col- classification of household waste with resi- continues to be the only public botanical
lected in recent years in the San Carlos dents of a neighborhood located one hour garden in the country; it is an institution with
protected areas. The collection now has from Guatemala City. It is aimed at children stable operations, which generates quality
2,800 accessions of seeds and 114 fruits. and their families and is supported by the scientific information and that trains stu-
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and dents of all educational levels in the country.
This year, with support from BGCI, we have the Center for International Health.
a project in the cloud forest protected area Carolina Rosales de Zea
"Mario Dary Rivera University biotope". We In addition, we have an education program Jardín Botanico de la Universidad
are studying the phenology of trees that are for visitors that takes place from Monday to de San Carlos de Guatemala
used as food by the Quetzal, our national Friday through which we reach students of Guatemala
bird, with the aim of propagating this species
for restoration.

Being able to reach research objectives rep-

resents a great challenge, in a country where
the investment in science and research rep-
resents 0.035% of GDP. Even so, the
Garden annually develops one to three
research projects financed mainly by the
University, which allows it to generate bot-
anical and ecological information from the
university's own protected areas.

Outreach activities

In teaching, we usually work with under-

graduate students from different disciplines.
These are mainly students of biology, agro-
nomy, architecture, graphic design, systems
engineering and communication sciences. Walking trails in the botanical garden (Ixchel Maldonado)

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 44

 ARTICLE
Authors: Rolf A. Engelmann, Martin Freiberg & Christian Wirth

Children on a discovery journey in the tropical greenhouses in the Botanical Garden Leipzig (@feinesbild.de)

THE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF THE UNIVERSITY

OF LEIPZIG - BRINGING THE GLOBAL DIVERSITY
OF PLANTS TO LEIPZIG FOR EXPLORATION,
COMMUNICATION AND PROTECTION
The Leipzig Botanical Garden has maintained its a varied history and has become part of the
scientific and cultural identity of the Univer-
importance over centuries. Today it is valued for its role sity of Leipzig and the city of Leipzig during
in teaching, research and knowledge transfer across the the 480 years of its existence.
entire university, while the university has always been Today the Botanical Garden, with its living
the basis of existence for the Botanical Garden. collection of about 6,500 species, has an out-
standing scientific importance in teaching and
research. Within the University, the Botanical
Garden is integrated into the teaching of the
Introduction founded University of Leipzig. As early as Faculties of Life Sciences, Physics & Earth
1580, the garden was integrated into the Sciences, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine.
he Botanical Garden of the University university's teaching and research activities In teaching, the garden’s collections are used

T of Leipzig is considered the oldest

botanical garden associated with a
university in Germany. Its origins date back
with the employment of Moritz Steinmetz
as the Garden's first prefect. Over the cen-
turies, the location of the Botanical Garden
in a total of nine modules. The stock acces-
sions serve as demonstration material in
lectures, as material for measurements of
to 1542, when the Dominican monastery of was moved several times and it has now plant traits (Functional Biodiversity of Plants)
St. Paul with the associated medicinal been at its current location for almost 150 and phenology, and diverse courses use the
garden, was transferred to the newly years. The Botanical Garden looks back on Garden through guided tours or for self-study.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) • 45-48 45

Furthermore, plant accessions are provided
for identification courses (systematic botany
and plant ecology) and for greenhouse
experiments of ecological courses (introduc-
tion to ecology, biodiversity and ecosystem
functions, tropical botany).

A Garden of Diversity

Its branding as a "garden of diversity" is due

to the maintenance of a plant collection that
primarily serves a range of research and
teaching purposes. With the basic renova-
tion of the greenhouses from 1998-2001
and a strengthening of the biosciences at
the University of Leipzig, the importance of
the Botanical Garden has grown in recent
times. The construction of the Medicinal
Garden in 2001 in an adjacent park focused
on building knowledge of medical herbs for
students of the university. View to the greenhouses in spring, Botanical Garden Leipzig (Botanical Garden Leipzig).

The Botanical Garden played a key role in Further main collaborations exist with the own research projects thanks to its affili-
the acquisition and establishment of the City of Leipzig in the operation of the Fra- ation with the University of Leipzig and our
renowned German Centre for Biodiversity grance and Touch Garden as well as with scientific staff. In accordance with the
Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig (iDiv) in 2012. the iDiv within the research platforms branding of the Botanical Garden, the focus
In combination with new challenges for a ARBOfun (Research Arboretum Großpösna) lies in plant diversity, but for some applica-
modern infrastructure, the construction of a and the Leipzig Canopy Crane Facility. tions also including the diversity of all
new research greenhouse was necessary. known organisms. It is our goal to make the
This research greenhouse, completed as a Biodiversity research species richness of our planet visible and
pilot project in energy efficiency, is also thus tangible not only for scientists but ulti-
located in the grounds of the Botanical In addition to the above-mentioned projects mately for all people. In recent years, the
Garden and provides the facilities for state- and the maintenance of the plant collection, curator of the Botanical Garden, Martin Frei-
of-the-art scientific experiments. the Botanical Garden also carries out its berg, and colleagues have put a lot of work
into the publication of the Leipzig Catalogue
of Vascular Plants (LCVP). This reference list
contains 1,315,562 scientific names of all
globally described vascular plant species. The
current version of the Leipzig Catalogue of
Vascular Plants (version 1.0.3) contains
351,180 accepted species names (plus 6,160
natural hybrids) within 13,460 genera, 564
families and 84 orders (Freiberg et al., 2020).

Based on this catalogue, the idea arose to

represent not only plants, but all organisms
of our planet in a single phylogenetic map.
Consequently, the idea for the LifeGate pro-
ject (www.lifegate.idiv.de) was born.
LifeGate is a digital interactive two-dimen-
sional phylogenetic map with the
arrangement of all known species (2.6 mil-
lion) in an interactive zoomable user
interface. LifeGate has been integrated into
the PlantHub project which aims at making
all of iDiv’s plant-related data searchable
Lavender blossom in the Medicinal Garden (Wolfgang Teschner). and accessible.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 46

View over the Eurasian steppe to the Inspector’s House in May in the Botanical Garden Leipzig (Botanical Garden Leipzig).

In addition to the research projects concen- Leipzig. In over 200 climate beds distributed develop important, locally implementable
trated in the Leipzig Botanical Garden, we in the four cities, each with the same set of approaches to nature conservation and cli-
are also very interested in joint projects with eleven plant species, scientists and citizen mate adaptation for urban green spaces.
other botanical gardens and partners. For scientists jointly collect and analyse pheno-
example, we have been working for several logical data. In addition, we are using citizen Science meets Society
years in the PhenObs network. The aims of dialogues to improve conscious experience
this project are linking phenology and func- of nature, climate and the natural processes The project “LifeGate Leipzig” jointly devel-
tional trait ecology of plants and of vegetation development. In joint projects oped with the Natural History Museum of
understanding how biotic and abiotic with citizens, scientists, non-governmental Leipzig is another important transfer project,
changes influence shifts in herbaceous organizations and city representatives, we funded in a pilot phase within the univer-
species phenology (Nordt et al., 2021). as the Botanical Garden want to jointly sity's “Science meets Society” program.

Knowledge transfer

Over the centuries, the Botanical Garden of

the University of Leipzig, as a publicly
accessible research facility, has always been
a showcase of the University and a place of
knowledge transfer. Today, this transfer is
of even greater importance and is supported
by the university management. The new
Transfer Department, founded in 2021
within the Botanical Garden, focuses on
exhibitions with partners and third party
funded projects with citizen scientists, such
as "Pflanze KlimaKultur!" (engl. Plant, Cli-
mateCulture!). Building on the PhenObs
project, we are currently working together
in a network of four botanical gardens Overlooking the new iDiv research greenhouse in the Botanical Garden Leipzig
including the cities of Berlin, Halle, Jena and (Wolfgang Teschner).

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 47

 Garden works even with the youngest in
society. Within the kindergarten-project,
children from a partner day-care centre (pre-
school age 5-6 years) come to the Botanical
Garden on a weekly basis and use a perma-
nent refuge in our grounds for all gardening
activities that occur in a botanical garden
during the year. This is accompanied by a
gardener from our team and regularly pres-
ented as a model project during excursions,
e.g. within the training of future educators.

Volunteer support

Finally, we would like to take this opportunity

to acknowledge the work and effort of the
Friends of our Botanical Garden. Without
the extensive voluntary commitment of
many people who love the Botanical Garden
of the University of Leipzig, many of our
education activities, especially in the past,
would not have been implemented to the
extent achieved. The work of the Friends of
the Botanical Garden also generates con-
siderable additional financial resources that
benefit the work of the Botanic Garden in
all fields of activity.

References

• Freiberg, M., Winter, M., Gentile, A., Zizka,

A., Muellner-Riehl, A. N., Weigelt, A., &
Wirth, C. 2020. LCVP , The Leipzig cata-
Pupils learn in the Botany School of the Botanical Garden Leipzig (@feinesbild.de) logue of vascular plants , a new taxonomic
reference list for all known vascular plants.
The vision of this project is to compile the on global biodiversity, i.e. the entanglement Scientific Data 7, 416.
regional biodiversity of a city like Leipzig - of nature and culture, by developing a suit-
whether occurring in nature, in a garden, the able exhibition concept. • Nordt, B., Hensen, I., Bucher, S. F., Freiberg,
zoo or a park, or preserved in museums or M., Primack, R. B., Stevens, A. D., Bonn,
collections or even offered in supermarkets The Botany School of the Leipzig Botanical A., Wirth, C., Jakubka, D., Plos, C., Sporbert,
- as comprehensively as possible and to Garden also contributes to the knowledge M., & Römermann, C. 2021. The PhenObs
compare it worldwide in a global context. In transfer task. Here, teachers paid by the fed- initiative: A standardised protocol for moni-
this first pilot phase, we are collecting all eral state of Saxony use the Botanical toring phenological responses to climate
digitally available species lists from local Garden as an extracurricular place of learn- change using herbaceous plant species in
stakeholders and linking them to the global ing and thus make our plant collections botanical gardens. Functional Ecology,
species dataset in LifeGate to show the accessible to Leipzig pupils of all school 35(4), 821–834.
immense regional biodiversity. In a next types. Botanical and ecological topics can
phase of the project, we plan to develop thus be taught directly with living organisms. Rolf A. Engelmann
ways to close possible gaps in the digitiza- Coordinated by the Botanic Garden's Botanical Garden, Leipzig University
tion of collections e.g. of museums, to Transfer Team, the Botany School creates Linnéstraße 1
incorporate the extensive knowledge about lasting experiences within the world of 04103 Leipzig, Germany
species and their occurrences from the grey plants for young people.
literature and to bring poorly studied groups
of organisms into the focus of scientific inter- There are also learning opportunities in the
est. Ultimately, we want to demonstrate the Botanical Garden for even younger kids that
comprehensive dependence of local society show how knowledge transfer in the Botanic

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 48

 CASE STUDY
Author: Justyna Wiland-Szymańska

the COST Action 18201. Thanks to being

THE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF THE part of the University, Garden staff benefit

ADAM MICKIEWICZ UNIVERSITY IN from exchanges within the Erasmus+ pro-

gram and projects e.g. “Botanical garden: A
POZNAŃ, POLAND green world for everyone! Educational activ-
ities for visitors with special needs in green
space”. We are also a host or a sightseeing
place for employees from other universities
coming to the AMU.

Cooperation with universities, both Polish and

foreign, results in the organization of thematic
exhibitions, presented in the Garden. In addi-
tion to strictly scientific activities, the AMU
BG employees conduct educational activities
all year round and participate in actions pro-
moting the protection of biodiversity, the
development of urban greenery and pro-
ecological behavior. They also provide
consultations and opinions on the selection
of plants and plant care.

In summary, the AMU Botanical Garden is

not only a showcase of the University and its
gift to the inhabitants of the city of Poznań,
but also an important center of education at
he Botanical Garden in Poznań, Poland The garden staff, together with employees all levels. In addition, it is a unit that cooper-

T was established in 1925 as an edu-

cational school garden. At present, it
is a 21ha unit belonging to the Adam Mick-
of the AMU Faculty of Biology participate in
programs for the reintroduction and
strengthening of the populations of rare and
ates in the implementation of research tasks,
both in the field of basic and applied sciences,
as well as artistic projects. While being a cul-
iewicz University in Poznań and is open protected species. Joining international con- tural monument, it is also an important
free-of-charge to all visitors throughout the ferences provides the opportunity to historical, natural and recreational facility,
year. It is a popular place for leisure and cul- exchange scientific and practical knowledge, implementing the principles of the Univer-
tural events for the inhabitants of the city and e.g: Ex situ conservation of plants. Problems sity's openness to society and broadly
the entire region. The collection of plants, and solutions. Similarly, the exchange of understood cooperation with society.
grouped in 10 thematic sections, comes from experiences and participation in joint projects
six continents, with over 300 species of are possible thanks to membership in inter- Justyna Wiland-Szymańska
endangered or legally protected plants in national groups of scientists. An example of The Botanical Garden
Poland, and 580 CITES-listed species. such cooperation is the brochure on European Adam Mickiewicz University
CITES species published in 2022 as part of Poznań, Poland
The garden is a multidimensional teaching
base for students. Since 1956, about 250
diploma theses of various types have been
carried out in connection with the Garden.
Polish and foreign students also attend
internships, which allow them to expand their
knowledge in the field of biodiversity, species
protection and plant cultivation. Specimens
of plants or their parts are made available for
the purposes of conducting laboratory
classes and for research. Experimental work
is also carried out in the Garden as part of
university research grants. Garden employees
actively participate in collecting research
material and monitoring experiments, often
as co-authors in papers.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) • 49 49

 CASE STUDY
Authors: Guillermo García-Saúco Sánchez, Pablo Ferrandis and Alejandro Santiago

THE BOTANIC GARDEN AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CASTILLA-

LA MANCHA: A FRUITFUL SYNERGIC RELATIONSHIP IN THE
CONTINENTAL MEDITERRANEAN CONTEXT
birds and invertebrates, which promotes a
very interesting lesson around biodiversity
components and their relationships.

The BGCLM is supported by the Albacete

city council, the Albacete provincial council
and the University of Castilla-La Mancha
(UCLM) through a non-profit foundation.

Research

The UCLM has a research centre in the

Botanic Garden - the Botanical Institute
(Instituto Botánico). There, a number of uni-
versity professors and collaborators carry
out their research on diverse scientific dis-
ciplines related to botany: plant ecology,
conservation biology of plants, molecular
biology, phytochemistry, systematics, eth-
nobotany… The Botanical Institute of the
he Botanic Garden of Castilla-La procedures (according to EU legal regula- UCLM offers laboratories, offices and

T Mancha (BGCLM) is located in the

outskirts of the city of Albacete, in
south-eastern Spain. In this 7-hectare
tions), which has allowed the BGCLM to be
formally certified as of “ecological excel-
lence” (the only one in Spain and Portugal).
material to the researchers and some
Botanic Garden staff members participate
as research collaborators. This helps achieve
environment, more than 28,000 plants of The environmentally-friendly management a “symbiotic” relationship between the insti-
2,100 taxa from all over the world help this has allowed a wide variety of animal species tutions and contributes to BGCLM achieving
botanic garden spread love and interest to thrive in the botanic garden, particularly its the research aims.
in plants.

The BGCLM is focused on the native, conti-

nental Mediterranean flora of this inland
region in the Iberian Peninsula. Samples of
such an interesting Mediterranean vegeta-
tion have been arranged in recreations of
about 40 natural habitats, representative of
the autonomous community of Castilla-La
Mancha, all of them protected by regional
and European laws. Overall, regional habitat
examples in the BGCLM comprise around
800 native species, many of them endan-
gered They have all been planted and
established successfully, often under
species-specific cultivation techniques.

Another significant part of the botanic

garden is devoted to collections of plants
from all over the world, also appealing to
visitors. This huge display of plant diversity
is managed according to strict biological Cistus creticus - rockrose (Botanic Garden of Castilla-La Mancha)

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) • 50-51 50

Other researchers, although not necessarily
linked to the Botanical Institute, also partici-
pate in national and international research
projects along with the staff members of the
Botanic Garden. Recent studies have shown
how the BGCLM is as an important urban
biodiversity hotspot for birds and insects
such as hoverflies and dragonflies. Scientific
papers produced in the Botanical Institute
are displayed in the Botanic Garden’s hall,
so that visitors can learn about the science
that is taking place.

The UCLM and the BGCLM are currently

involved in a research network analysing the
effect of climate change on urban lawns in
an international study along with other
Spanish and Portuguese universities.

Education and scientific

dissemination as symposia, conferences and seminars if needed to recover plant populations which
which help promote the value of botanic have suffered loss in the wild. Through this
The Botanic Garden functions as an open gardens for research and conservation line of conservation line, many researchers
classroom and practice field for students have studied the germination ecology of a
from different University programmes and Conservation number of endangered plant species.
degrees, including pharmacy, biotechnology,
agricultural and forest engineering, educa- The University of Castilla-La Mancha, through Qualified members of staff
tion... The students get to understand the the Botanical Institute, offers infrastructure
role of botanic gardens in the world, with support to the seed bank of the Botanic Some BGCLM staff members work at the
respect to plant species conservation and Garden, whose origin dates back to 2007. UCLM. They contribute to the design, man-
as scientific research centres. This way, the Here, more than 1 million seeds are kept agement and programme execution in the
UCLM promotes and disseminates informa- long-term in controlled conditions, as an ex Botanic Garden. The Director and the Scien-
tion about our Botanic Garden among future situ means of conservation for endangered tific Director are UCLM professors specialised
professionals. The UCLM also organises dif- or vulnerable wild native plant species. These in ecology and botanical systematics. The
ferent academic and scientific activities such seeds can be germinated after long periods curator received his Doctorate through the
UCLM programme, and his studies were
centred on morphophysiological seed dor-
mancy types of relict populations of
threatened plant species in the Iberian Medi-
terranean region.

The Botanic Garden of Castilla-La Mancha is

determined to continue its collaboration with
the University of Castilla-La Mancha. This
synergistic connection has proven to be
extremely beneficial for both institutions and,
thanks to this alliance, many people are
becoming more connected to the plant world
– something that is essential for society in
the light of the current global change.

Guillermo García-Saúco Sánchez

Departamento de Divulgación y
Promoción
Jardín Botánico de Castilla-La
Mancha, Albacete, Spain

UrbanFun Experiment (Botanic Garden of Castilla-La Mancha)

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 51

 CASE STUDY
Author: Magdaléna Chytrá

THE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF THE FACULTY OF SCIENCE

OF MASARYK UNIVERSITY IN BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC

Around 30,000 visitors visit the garden

annually and about 15,000 visit the green-
houses. Approximately 2,500 pupils and
students participate in professional excur-
sions through the greenhouses. Usually,
there are four professional exhibitions of
plants or animals per year, and there are
also exhibitions with ecological themes, art
exhibitions, concerts and other events for
the public.

Since 1989, when the Czech Republic

became a democratic country, the university
has broadened its approach. The garden
staff have repeatedly completed internships
abroad with the support of Erasmus. In
2005, the Professional Union of Botanical
Gardens of the Czech Republic was estab-
lished, with our garden as a founding
member. In 1996, the Association of Friends
he Botanical Garden of the Faculty of Since the 1960s, due to political and finan- of the Botanical Garden, a community of

T Science of Masaryk University in Brno,

Czech Republic, was founded in 1922
by Professor Podpěra, who also founded the
cial pressures, the botanic garden has been
an independent workplace without a con-
nection to the Institute of Botany, and there
experts and amateurs, visitors and lovers of
our garden, was founded.

Institute of Botany. The garden remains in its is no place for science. The garden has Magdaléna Chytrá
original location, in the middle of the city; it is become mainly a place for education and Masarykova Univerzita
a classic university botanical garden with public awareness. Open daily, it is a show- Kotlářská 267/2 , 611 37 Brno
living collections of plants according to the case for the University. Czech Republic
original arrangement. It serves students and
the public, scientists and schools of all levels.

Outdoor collections, on 1,5 ha, include sys-

tematic flower beds with 85 families and
more than 1,500 plant taxa. There are also
examples of vegetation from South Moravia,
the Carpathians and species from the tem-
perate zones of Asia and America. There
are collections of woody plants and a geo-
park of the Institute of Geological Sciences
in the Faculty on an area of 3 ha.

The greenhouses (1,100 m2) house a diverse

group of tropical and subtropical plants
including collections of ferns, cycads, brome-
liads and succulents. Subtropical and tropical
greenhouses are focused on useful plants
and pride-of-place is given to the water lily
(Victoria cruziana) pond.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) • 52 52

 CASE STUDY
Author: Sophie Pittoors

OBSERVATOIRE DU MONDE DES he « Observatoire du Monde des

PLANTES, THE BOTANICAL GARDEN T Plantes » (OMP) is the botanical

garden of Liège's university. Opened
in 1996, it is located on the University's estate
OF LIEGE’S UNIVERSITY of the Sart-Tilman (Liège, Belgium). It is one
of the main university’s facilities dedicated to
science outreach and is integrated in the uni-
versity museum and culture group.

This botanical garden is composed of a large

greenhouse of 2,300 m2 providing
areas/zones with different climatic profiles,
recreating 3 of our planet's biomes- “tropical
evergreen forests”, “Mediterranean ever-
green forests” and “arid deserts”. The
displays illustrate varying themes, including
the evolution of land plants and the begin-
ning of life on earth; the co-evolution
between plants and animals; some excep-
tional species, environments or biological
mechanisms; and various fragile and
threatened ecosystems, such as mangrove
swamps or cloud forests.

The OMP possesses a rich and varied plant

heritage containing some remarkable bot-
anical collections and subjects: the unique
collection in Belgium of Bryophytes, a set of
Namaqualand and Madagascar plant
species as well as an important collection
The desert greenhouse (Patrick Motte) of Bromeliaecae, are among the most
notable elements.

The missions of the OMP are numerous.

One of these is the conservation of plant
species through the maintenance and
enrichment of a botanical collection that
already includes some 3,000 taxa, some of
which have become extremely endangered
or extinct in their natural habitat. In order
to carry out this task, the OMP has joined
various networks such as BGCI, the “Associ-
ation des Jardins Botaniques et Arboreta de
Belgique” (VBTA-Vereniging Botanische
Tuinen en Arboreta) as well as the JBFPF
(“Jardins Botaniques de France et des Pays
Francophones”). These networks have a
common focus on enhancing relationships
and building competency/skills, as well as
supporting the exchange of plant material
(seeds, plants) between botanical gardens,
in line with the provisions of the Convention
on Biological Diversity, to support the con-
servation of plant species and their
Mangrove swamp area in the tropical greenhouse (Sophie Pittoors) threatened habitats.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) • 53-54 53

 Public education about biology and ecology
and raising awareness about biodiversity
and its conservation are among the crucial
duties of OMP. So, for example, a new data-
base of the plants in the collection allows
plants to be labelled with their conservation
status according to IUCN. Various educa-
tional approaches, as well as guided visits
inform visitors about the importance of envi-
ronmental protection and of the dramatic
consequences of human activities. A wide
audience, encompassing students from vari-
ous education levels, researchers and the
general public is reached by these various
approaches and science diffusion is wide.

Beyond its essential role in biodiversity con-

servation, as a university botanical garden,
the OMP has a close relationship with the
university students and its research environ-
ment. Through its collections, the OMP
contributes not only to the illustration of vari-
ous courses, such as taxonomy and plant
The tropical greenhouse (Sophie Pittoors) systematics, ecology, plant physiology, evol-
utionary biology, conservation and even
pharmacognosy and biogeography. It also
provides botanical materials for the practical
work of students, doctoral students and
researchers. The OMP regularly hosts stu-
dents as part of their internships and also
for final-year dissertations on a range of
topics. Likewise it participates in research on
fundamental and applied scientific studies,
such as biomimicry or active biomolecules
with interesting pharmacological properties.

To summarize, as a botanical garden bound

to a university, the OMP, apart from its more
‘classical’ missions linked to public aware-
ness and plant conservation, is a substantial
educational asset for students as well as pro-
viding support, in various ways, for research
carried out at the University of Liège.

Sophie Pittoors
Espaces Botaniques Universitaires
de Liège
Chemin de la ferme, 1
Macaronesian area in the desert greenhouse (Sophie Pittoors) 4000 Liège, Belgium

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 54

 CASE STUDY
Author: Desislava Miteva

SOFIA UNIVERSITY BOTANIC GARDENS Nowadays, there are several distinct zones
in the park - rock gardens, water pond with
– HISTORY AND PRESENT lilies, wetland with moisture-loving plants
and a perennial garden. The plants in the
greenhouses are mainly cultivated for scien-
tific and education purposes and include
well-documented collections of subtropical,
tropical species and succulents. Up-
to-date, the University Botanic Garden
Sofia grows and preserves more than 1,500
plant species.

Sixty-three years after the foundation of the

garden in Sofia, a new branch on the Bul-
garian Black Sea Coast was established. In
1955, the University Botanic Garden in Bal-
chik opened its doors for year-round public
visits. Under the guidance of the world-
famous botanist Prof. Daki Jordanov, the
park territory of the former summer resi-
dence of Romanian Queen Marie Alexandra
Victoria of Edinburgh was transformed into
a breathtaking botanical oasis on the edge
of the sea.

Nowadays, the Botanic Garden in Balchik

spreads over 19.4 ha on the cliffs of a lime-
stone plateau from the sea level up to an
The University Botanic Garden in Balchik altitude of 35 m. Since 2005, it is in the list
of protected areas in Bulgaria. The unique
he University Botanic Gardens at orchids, cacti and poinsettias were ordered combination between the microclimate in

T Sofia University „St. Kliment Ohridski“

(Bulgaria), is made up of gardens in
three locations – the cities of Sofia, Varna
from Erfurt, Germany. Later, the garden was
developed by Karl Neff, the son of the
famous Swiss gardener Daniel Neff.
the garden and a set of different habitats
on a small territory allows an exhibition of
exclusive and rare plant assemblages.
and Balchik. They were established at dif-
ferent times and each one has its unique
development and characteristics. The Uni-
versity Botanic Garden in Sofia already
boasts a 130-year history.

The oldest university in Bulgaria (Sofia Uni-

versity “St. Kliment Ohridski”) was founded
on 1st October 1888. Just four years later,
in 1892, under the leadership of the first
Bulgarian Professor of Botany Dr. Stefan
Georgiev (1859 – 1900), Sofia Botanic
Garden started to welcome students and
academics.

The opening ceremony was attended by the

Bulgarian King Ferdinand, who had a certain
interest in botany. Then, an oak tree (Quer-
cus robur L.) was planted, which still grows
in the center of the garden. Additionally, to
enrich the developing collection, a green-
house was built and a set of exotic plants - University Botanic Garden, Sophia

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) • 55-56 55

 It has been designed as a typical arboretum
comprising over 330 species of native and
introduced trees and shrubs. It is a tourist site
of regional significance and during its 20-
year development Ecopark Varna launched
many eco-attractions of cultural, scientific-
educational, sport and entertainment nature.
In its joint work with local organizations and
educational institutions, the garden organizes
“green school” environmental camps that
direct the attention of the pupils towards
environmental conservation and strengthen
their sense of responsibility towards nature.
The guided walks and botanical consultations
showcase the natural and man-made eco-
systems in the park, increasing the visitors’
knowledge about the significance of the bio-
logical diversity in the area. The celebrations
of national and folk holidays, the designation
of recreation zones, the rides in a traditional
decorated Bulgarian carriage and the organ-
ization of folk wedding ceremonies in the park
area help the visitors get closer to the tradi-
University Botanic Garden “Eco-Park” Varna tional Bulgarian family values.

The garden is famous for its rich cactus and zone was designed as a minimalist model of University Botanical Gardens are members
other succulent plant collection of about different gardens in the whole park complex, of the World Botanical Gardens Council, the
4,000 species. Every spring, the Botanic allowing disabled visitors to enjoy most of the European Botanical Gardens Consortium,
Garden Balchik becomes a home of a splen- plant expositions. In addition, a corner for vis- the Botanical Gardens Environmental Edu-
did tulip pageant (more than 50 000 tulip ually impaired people was established, where cation Network and participate with their
bulbs), an incredible parade of floristic plant biodiversity could be felt and explored collections in the Index Seminum seed and
beauty. through the tactile and olfactory senses. plant exchange with botanical gardens
around the world.
As an institution, which aims to unite Last but not least, The Botanic Garden Bal-
science, education and social activities, the chik functions as a rescue center for rare and Desislava Miteva
University Botanic Garden Balchik partici- endangered plant species in Bulgaria, being University Botanic Garden Varna
pates in national and international education part of the international CITIES framework. Bulgaria
and social projects and hosts different green
schools and exhibitions. University Botanic Garden “Eco-Park” Varna
was established in 1977 on the site of an
In 2005, a new extra zone ('Nursery Garden' existing nursery. Since 2002, this garden
– 0,7 ha) in the garden was created to wel- has been opened for visitors as the first Ecol-
come the guests with limited abilities. This ogical Park in Bulgaria.

BGCI • 2022 • BGjournal • Vol 19 (2) 56

 Descanso House, 199 Kew Road,
Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3BW, U.K.
Tel: +44 (0)20 8332 5953
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.bgci.org
https://twitter.com/bgci

Volume 19 • Number 2 • July 2022 ISSN 1811-8712

INFLUENCE 7th Global Botanic

Gardens Congress
25–29 September 2022
& ACTION Melbourne Australia

Botanic Gardens
as Agents of Change
Join us for the 7th Global gardens can play a greater role part of the global discussion. or regional botanic gardens.
Botanic Gardens Congress in shaping our future. With You’ll have the opportunity And whilst in Melbourne, you
(7GBGC) which will be held accelerated loss of biodiversity to participate in a designated can experience the vibrant
in Melbourne Australia from across the globe, increased Education and Engagement Day, contemporary creative and
Sunday 25 – Thursday 29 urbanisation, population growth field visits and a post-Congress food scenes for which the city is
September 2022. and climate change, our need tour visiting the spectacular globally renowned for.
to work together to find new Wildflowers of Western
It is an ideal time to bring Visit the Congress website
solutions for the future has Victoria. Explore Royal Botanic
our community together and to view the program and for
never been greater. Gardens Victoria’s stunning and
experience real people, real information on registration
contrasting landmark gardens
connections and real gardens. Join inspiring speakers, and join us in Melbourne in
at Melbourne and Cranbourne
Influence and Action: Botanic fascinating workshops, panel September 2022.
or immerse yourself in natural
Gardens as Agents of Change discussions, and symposia
areas of coastal heathland or
will explore how botanic over the Congress days and be
towering hardwood forest,

For further information visit

7GBGC.ORG