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A botanical garden, also called a botanic garden, is a garden that contains a wide variety of plant species, usually labeled with their scientific names. A botanical garden is typically devoted to the research, cultivation, preservation, and display of plants.
As one of the world’s mega-biodiversity countries, India has a wide variety of plant life. India has one of the wealthiest floras globally thanks to its sheer size, range of latitudes and altitudes, rainfall, and climatic and geographical versatility.
There are about 200,000 living plants recorded in the accessions of these gardens. Some of the garden’s holdings come from illicit donations.
Only about 30 to 50 per cent of the garden’s plants are on display on any given day.
History
The First Botanical Garden of India was founded in 1787 by an army officer of the East India Company named Colonel Robert Kyd. The primary purpose for establishing the garden was for identifying new plant species, such as teak, which have significant economic value and grow them on a commercial scale for trade.
It was then named Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta. Later, the name was changed to Calcutta Botanical Garden and then Indian Botanic garden. On 25th June 2009, the name was finally changed to the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanic Garden in honor of Jagadish Chandra Bose, a Bengali botanist physicist and an early writer of science fiction.
Over 12,000 specimens of rare plants are housed in the gardens, covering 109 hectares. Under the Ministry of Environment and Forests of India, the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) manages the center.
Interesting facts about botanical gardens in India
Most extensive Botanical garden in India – Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden. Only about 30 to 50 per cent of the garden’s plants are on display on any given day.
Oldest in India – The famous botanical garden in India, the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanic Garden in Kolkata, is the first established botanical garden in India and South Asia.
One of Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden’s most notable landmarks is the Great Banyan Tree, an enormous banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis) reputed to be the world’s largest, with an elongated circumference of more than 330 meters.
Kohli Memorial Himalayan Garden – which operated as the world’s most miniature botanical garden for 20 years from 1990.
Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute –Trivandrum, Kerala – conserve the most significant number of plant species in Asia.
A fantastic collection of roses can be found at the Government Botanical Garden in Ooty in Tamil Nadu.
National Cactus and Succulent Botanical Garden and Research Center – One of the giant Cactus and Succulent Botanical Gardens in India
The Largest collection of aquatic plant species in India – Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute of Plant Sciences.
Some of the garden’s holdings come from illicit donations.
The Botanic garden added its first green roof in 2019.
Alipore horticultural society, located in Kolkata, grows a vast collection of medicinal, ornamental, and unusual trees, like bonsai trees, cacti, and tissue culture products. It also organizes and conducts annual flower shows.
Lloyd Botanical Garden, located in Darjeeling at an altitude of 2100 meters, is one of the most famous botanical gardens. It is home to the 118-year-old woody climber Wisteria chinensis.
In 1760, Hyder Ali built the 240-acre Lalbagh botanical garden in Bangalore, Karnataka, as a private garden. Plant science, botanical artwork, and plant conservation are carried out at this horticultural wonder, home to nearly 1,854 plants.
To introduce tea plants from China to India to expand the Indian tea industry, the British East India Company purchased the Saharanpur botanical garden in Uttar Pradesh in 1817, renaming it the “Company Garden”. Saharanpur botanical garden was integral to constructing India’s tea market in the Himalayas and Assam region.
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore is home to a 55-acre botanical garden known for its annual flower show, the 100-meter “cascade” view, lengthy bubbling water channel and a “Sunken Garden” at three levels of lawn with paths and floating flora in a central basin.
Empress Garden – Pune, Maharashtra, was initially called the “Soldier garden” and is famous for its collection of tropical trees.
Importance of Botanical Gardens
As botanical gardens house many plant species, it is an open outdoor laboratory for numerous students and botanists. Some importance of these gardens are –
They help in taxonomic study and research.
They provide the public with information about local and exotic species of plants.
Rare species and genetic diversity are conserved and propagated in botanical gardens.
Conclusion
Dedicated to preserving and exhibiting different species of plants and trees, the Botanical Gardens are specialized exhibit sites. A botanical garden’s purpose is to conduct education and research through libraries, herbaria, laboratories, and museums.
As organizations dedicated to horticulture and botany, botanical gardens have developed over time. Today, most botanical gardens encompass different themes and try to keep in touch with the local public’s concerns. Only about 30 to 50 per cent of the garden’s plants are on display on any given day so that the visitor understands local plants.
