Botanical Garden
A botanical garden is a land built by a public institution, private or associative (sometimes JMC) which aims at the presentation of species and plant varieties.
The many species and varieties of wild plants and / or horticultural herein are strictly identified and met in collections. They are cultured and studied to satisfy four main objectives: conservation, scientific research, education and teaching, while remaining compatible with tourism.
Summary |
History
The botanical garden was invented in the Renaissance , a period of great curiosity encyclopedic, taking precedence over the herb garden of the Middle Ages. The latter is then directed primarily to food and medicinal use of plants, but is characterized by the appearance of a classification and a more scientific nomenclature.
The first botanical garden was created under the name ' Orto Botanico in Pisa in 1543. In 1545 , Padua and Florence open theirs. Rapidly, that of Padua - the oldest still existing - acquires great fame, probably because of the university chair on which it is attached. A botanical garden open to the public is created at the University of Bologna in 1568.
In France, in Montpellier in 1593 , appears the first botanical garden, the Garden Plant of Montpellier was founded by Pierre Richer de Belleval , currently managed by the University of Montpellier 1. The second botanical garden in France, the Botanical Garden of the University of Strasbourg , was established in 1619.
In the French capital, the Jardin des Plantes , also called King's Garden , is created on the orders of Louis XIII by Guy de la Brosse in 1635.
The Botanical Garden of Leiden (Leiden Hortus Botanicus) was founded in 1590 and is the oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands. The Botanical Garden of Amsterdam was founded in 1638 under the name Hortus Medicus which are grown herbs intended for doctors and apothecaries. Despite its modest size (1.2 ha), his collection of plants is the source of the research of Carl Linnaeus who developed the system of classification of species.
The oldest botanical garden in North America still exists, the Bartram's Garden (at Philadelphia in Pennsylvania ), was established in 1728.
In France, the number of universities with a botanical garden is in decline partly for financial reasons or all of policies promoting research and molecular genetics at the expense of the garden. This orientation leads to a loss of valuable scientific and historical knowledge.
See also: Timeline of botany.
The main tasks
Conservation
The main tasks of the botanical garden are the collection, study and conservation of plants, native or exotic, it adds protection for endangered species. In France, the national botanical conservatory (CBN) , as the Conservatoire National Botanic Mascarin for example, are specialized in this function.
Botanic gardens can become depositories of plants seized not the customs under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna and Flora (CITES).
In 1987, under the auspices of the IUCN has organized a global network of botanic gardens for conservation, known as Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).
Research
The scientific work in the botanical garden includes taxonomy , the study of botany but also the adaptation of species outside their native environment. The famous Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew , near London , have published a scientific journal for botanical research since the late eighteenth century. Often these institutions are also the place that builds grass.
The data collected and studies conducted on new species can also be used in the agriculture , the industry or medical research.
In the early twenty-first century, several botanical gardens orient their work in the field of ecology and the study of relationships between living things.
Teaching and education
Teaching botany and gardening
The botanical garden also has an educational function, first with the presentation of a collection of plants labeled to assist in the teaching of systematic (School of Botany), then with projects ranging from the introduction of new plants in a foreign environment to advice, even during gardening or home school groups. Many botanical gardens also offer for sale of plants.
The Botanical Garden of the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Centre for Plant Research, Vancouver and the Botanic Garden Chicago have set up breeding programs for plants and propose new species on the market.
Education related to the nature
That is something that botanical gardens are now developing. The protection of biodiversity and natural heritage transmission must pass through education through awareness suitable for all audiences.
Towards future generations, some elaborate botanical gardens, especially, educational programs for schools, tailored to the level of children. Tourism The gardens must be open to people of all backgrounds (local, regional, national and even international). Locally, a botanical garden plays the role of a public garden that provides the visitor with the approval of a place away from the urban norm. The tourism brings a dimension that generally interested donors and responsability policies which are likely to encourage and support the structure 'Botanical Garden'. Green tourism or ecotourism nowadays seems better suited to defending a botanical gardens and environmentally oriented institutions to preserve biodiversity and heritage values. In large botanical gardens there are several important sectors. The living collections are the first force of a botanical garden. The maintenance of the collections must be blameless, the plants should be presented in the best manner and respond to the overall theme developed by the botanical garden. The botanical gardens offer plants from around the world, which arouse the curiosity of visitors. Some botanical gardens, however, specialized in private collections: example: One such project was born in France , in Auvergne more precisely where the association GARDEN HERBS develops the idea of a botanical garden whose purpose and focus on the flora of Auvergne, by natural environments and vegetation levels. The botanical gardens are often equipped with specialized facilities for the conservation of exotic species that are not adapted to local climate. We find: The seagrasses are places where plants are stored dried. This means also a collection of dried plants and laid on sheets of paper together in folders. For now the largest herbarium in the world The graineterie Graineterie the botanical garden is a place where seeds are stored plant species found in the garden or not. These seeds are primarily harvested from the wild to ensure lines of genetically pure seed. All the major botanical gardens go outside to make field trips, it is an opportunity for them to harvest, season of fruiting, seeds of wild species of natural origin. Depending on the objectives of the garden, these outputs relate to the entire county or region where it is located. Some large gardens programmed missions abroad to satisfy their research needs. Of course gardeners can reap the seeds of plants growing in botanic gardens, but then you have to pay attention to pollution due to uncontrolled hybridization between different species or genera that are everywhere. In this case the genetic purity may no longer be met, then enter this doubt by an inscription original garden, the seed lot. True seed banks , seed lots of seeds retain the best in large cold rooms, or even some of them in freezers. This role is amplified by the network effect between different botanical gardens in the world, who carry them regularly to exchange seeds. Seed collection At harvest, part of the aerial stem is removed if possible without prejudicing vital to the mother plant. Each crop must be identified, the genus name and species, with notes in the place and date of harvest, and the collector's name. After arriving at the seed shop, for each species harvested starts drying usually in paper bags stored dry until sorting seeds. After sorting, only seeds cleared of all plant debris or soil are put in bags clearly labeled. The seeds are waiting to leave. The Garden reserves the seeds of the species according to their needs, others will take long-haul through a system of exchange between botanic gardens around the world. Index Seminum Seminum The Index is a catalog of seeds each year publishes Botanic Garden and ships for trade between more than 800 gardens worldwide. The various components of an index Seminum: The classification of plant species is in alphabetical order within families and within families by genus name. The seeds harvested within the same botanical garden should be a separate list. The seed source should always be specified. They may have been collected from the wild or inside the botanical garden. For foreign correspondents, each part is translated into English. See a beautiful Seminum index , that of the Conservatory and Botanical Garden of Geneva. If the seed shop we stock seeds alive is to put them in culture and get plants that can be observed, compared and identified again. The sminothque is a collection of seeds whose germination is not the concern. She is a need for identification and comparison of seeds of genera and species of plants. It demonstrates that even the seeds, there is considerable diversity both in the forms in the colors. It brings together not the seeds but that the casings were born, the fruit. This place is called Carpothque and is where visitors are invited to discover the exploits of nature that demonstrates excellence in the diversity of shapes and colors. All botanical gardens do not have carpothque despite the educational value of such collections. Yet they are easily achievable especially dried fruits of native plants growing in the region of each botanical garden. The National Museum of Natural History in Paris has an excellent collection of fruits from around the world. Recall that a botanical garden grows wild and / or horticultural crops or not. The gardeners are usually derived from horticultural training and form the backbone of the garden. Today in France there is a rating of 'Gardener botanist, who brings sensitivity linked to the' wild plants' and training in botanical essential for professionals wishing to work in the botanical gardens. Ideal for the development of collections in botanical gardens, the job of gardener botanist is necessary to perpetuate excellence in the quality of work. It must be a mad love of plants, he must seek the mastery of his craft, he must still improve his knowledge, he is meticulous and has an inquisitive mind. It also provides the entertainment provided by the Director, it informs visitors, provides guidance, conducts research literature to improve his knowledge. The training center preparing this certificate is Besanon. The training is unique in France takes place over one year is an apprenticeship or training for adults. The holding of a botanical garden must be impeccable, the plants are grown and presented by subject and must be maintained with particular care. The visitor must be able to navigate even if the gardeners are absent. Generally, and for many botanical gardens, plants are presented to the public in the form of flowerbeds cultivated plants are more or less aligned. In recent years we see emerging a new kind of garden where the concepts of ecology are included. The plants are presented by community, and each of them lives among others, as in nature. Each plant should be known by the gardener in charge of the area where it is located. Each is labeled, and must be followed. When a plant goes into a botanical garden it must be clearly identified, it is a priority! Once identified, the plant is planted in the garden that best suits him, it is tagged and recorded in the book introduction. From that time tracking can start it until his death, the gardener shall note carefully the different steps in wishing him long life. The director of the garden and the gardeners responsible for collections strive to achieve a perfect labeling. A plant for which we can not say anything is worthless to a botanical garden. Indeed, it should be possible for each one, identify its Latin name (Genus and species), common name, the family to which it belongs, its geographical origin, and number of introduction. The errors are very often caused by the malevolence of visitors! Currently we can consider that the success of a botanical garden depends on the audience receives it. The public should be as broad as possible, the garden must be accessible to a wide variety of visitors: 
The operation of a botanical garden
The collections of living plants
The collections of dried plants or herbarium
The collection of seeds
The Fruit Collection
Cultivation of plants in a botanical garden
The gardener botanist
The quality of collections
The book introduction
Labelling
Who is a botanical garden?
See also
References
Related articles
Loading ...