BOTANICAL GARDENS

In early days, botanic gardens were originally a collection of living plants whose primary function was to demonstrate relationships among
plant groups. In current times, the majority of botanical gardens are primarily focused on showcasing attractive plants, to the extent that this
is possible, in a manner that emphasizes the natural interactions between them. As a result, the two tasks of visual appeal and taxonomic
order are combined. Botanical plants that were previously prized for their medical properties and played a significant role in the
development of early botanical gardens are now mostly of historical significance and are not well represented in contemporary collections.
An arboretum is a type of show garden that focuses on woody plants (shrubs and trees), and it is located in a natural setting. It could be a
stand-alone collection or a component of a larger botanical garden complex.
Today’s botanical gardens have the primary goal of maintaining huge collections of plants that are identified with common and scientific
names and the places in which they were collected. According to the amount of land available, as well as the financial and scholarly
resources available to the school, plant collections in such gardens range from a few hundred to several thousand distinct varieties.
As the world’s population becomes more urbanized, botanical gardens are becoming more widely acknowledged as vital cultural resources
in industrialized countries, and as a result, more and more people are visiting them. Botanical gardens provide the city dweller with a
portion of the natural environment that he no longer has access to; in addition, they provide a mental getaway from the stresses of urban life
and inspire the development of new interests and hobbies that are related to the natural world.
The term tends to be used somewhat differently in different parts of the world. For example a large woodland garden with a good collection
of rhododendron and other flowering tree and shrub species is very likely to present itself as a "botanical garden" if it is located in the US,
but very unlikely to do so if in the UK (unless it also contains other relevant features). Very few of the sites used for the UK's dispersed
National Plant Collection, usually holding large collections of a particular taxonomic group, would call themselves "botanic gardens".
 History Of Botanical Garden
• A tight relationship exists between the history of botanical gardens and the history of botany itself. The botanical gardens of the 16th and
17th centuries were medicinal gardens, but the concept of a botanical garden evolved to include displays of the beautiful, strange, new,
and sometimes economically important plant trophies that were being returned from European colonies and other distant lands during the
18th and early 19th centuries. As time progressed, they took on an instructional role, showing the most recent plant classification systems
developed by botanists working in the linked herbaria as they attempted to arrange these new riches according to their classification
systems. When it came to horticulture and botany collections, the nineteenth and twentieth century saw an increase in the number of
specialty and eclectic collections that demonstrated many different facets of each.
• Gardens and arboretums differ from parks in that they are generally built up according to the scientific relationships of their plant
collections, rather than purely for the purpose of creating a landscape effect, providing playing fields, or engaging in other primarily
recreational activities. It is customary in botanical garden design to group trees and shrubs together in a portion of the garden referred to
as an arboretum in order to create a more formal appearance. The employment of trees and shrubs to improve landscape effects is more
common nowadays, and this is accomplished by interspersing them around the garden, in their respective taxonomic groups, with
herbaceous collections.
• The service or show greenhouses, which are typically connected with botanical gardens, are used to propagate plants or to cultivate
species that may not survive the seasonal changes in their natural environment. Tropical orchids, for example, must be cultivated in a
greenhouse in temperate climates with cold winters, such as those found in the United States. Similarly, tropical ferns, bromeliads,
economic plants of the tropics or near-tropics, many cacti and other succulents, African violets, and begonias are hardy in their native
climates. Hotbeds and greenhouses are used to start seedling plants that will be transplanted outside as soon as the weather becomes warm
enough.
• The gardens are as ancient as a civilization. People of that time used to plant trees for their benefit. They benefited from food supplements
to get help for making medicine and for decoration purposes with beautiful flowers. Few tribes at that time used to grow vegetables for
their appetite. In ancient times, temples, palaces, and houses had beautiful gardens consisting of many varieties of flowering plants and
fruits. The ancient Egyptian peoples used to plant the most seeds, which was astonishing for their neighbouring places. The ancient world
has the most amazing wonder, the “Hanging Garden” in Babylon
 Goals of Botanical Garden
• The following are some objectives and function of Botanical garden:

• Research in the scientific community

• Botanical gardens are excellent venues for conducting a wide range of scientific study. Botanical gardens not only serve as taxonomic and
systematic study centers, but they also serve as key sources of plant ecology data collecting, including phenological indications of climate
change, plant physiology and growth techniques, and plant animal interactions, among many other things. In order to investigate functional
trade-offs between species features and plant performance, botanical gardens can provide a large collection of species. Biological
experiments at botanic gardens can be conducted on pollination ecology, seed dispersal, plant conservation genetics, and the naturalization
of alien plants.
• Herbarium as well as a library
• A number of botanical gardens have herbaria and libraries as fundamental parts of their facilities, and they provide taxonomic materials for
research and education as part of their services.
• Conservation and usage are two important concepts
• Botanical gardens are most known for their living plant collections, and Botanical Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) believes that
there are 6.13 million accessions in botanical gardens, representing more than 80,000 species, according to their estimations. Living plant
conservation in botanical gardens, particularly of species that are endangered in the wild, has a long history and has made significant
contributions to our understanding of endangered species. When it comes to biological diversity, ex situ conservation is described as the
preservation of components of biological diversity outside of their natural environments. It is well known that botanical gardens are related
with ex situ conservation, which plays a vital role in the preservation of vulnerable plant species. In addition to establishing and supporting
collections of native species, botanical gardens also aim to establish and maintain stocks of plants for ex situ conservation and sustainable
exploitation of plant resources around the world. A basic framework for integrated plant species conservation in a botanical garden also
includes the identification and management of threats, long-term ex situ and/or in situ germplasm storage, research and development
information management, and horticulture and living collections.
• Exchange of Seeds
• More than 500 botanical gardens across the world participate in an informal seed exchange programme, which provides annual lists of
available species as well as the opportunity for free seed exchange.
• Education
• Floral collections are presented in botanical gardens according to families, species, or ecosystems. These collections of plants can be
utilized for educational or demonstration purposes. The public can also learn about plant identification, including native and alien species,
as well as propagation methods, in botanical gardens, which also provide plant materials for educational reasons.
• Appealing on a visual level
• Botanical gardens are visually appealing due to the enormous collections of native and exotic plants that are housed within them. They draw
a huge number of tourists who come to observe the general plant diversity as well as exotic and unusual flora.
• Botanical gardens are constructed to preserve plants and culture them for research and studies. The plants that are cultivated here are
labelled with their specific scientific names. These botanical gardens are of great use for scientists and researchers. Students visit these
gardens as a knowledge excursion from their schools and colleges. These gardens consist of a wide range of plant species, starting from
cacti and ending with herbs and bushes from different parts of the world. Many exotic plants, like Birds of paradise, tulips, lotus, etc., are
present in those gardens, along with tropical and alpine plants. They are also for entertainment purposes, as it is a pleasure to watch
beautiful flowers and plants and trees in one place. Botanical gardens are governed by universities or government authorities. Often, they
are controlled by scientific research institutions where they have made it up with herbaria or plant taxonomies.
• The purpose of a botanic garden is as follows:
• The plants which are cultivated here are used for scientific research.
• These gardens show the wide range of plants present on earth.
• Informative for students.
• Quite good as an entertainment purpose.
• Records are kept for living plants and extinct plants in these gardens (herbaria) and their performance.
 Example of Botanical Garden
• The National botanical garden of India is the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, situated in Howrah, West Bengal. It
was previously called the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta, and is now commonly known as the Calcutta Botanic Garden.
• Many more famous gardens in India are as follows:
• Lalbagh Botanical Garden, Bangalore
• For its appearance, maintenance, and scientific usefulness, it is one of the best gardens in the eastern regions. World Botanic Gardens had
a mother institution known as KEW. It helped this garden of Lalbagh by providing them with newly trained workers and new plants in
1856 .
• Lloyd’s Botanical Garden, Darjeeling
• Sir Ashley Eden, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, initiated the establishment of a botanical garden near Darjeeling in the Himalayas.
This garden was a branch of the National Botanical Garden of India situated in Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal. The garden covers 40
acres of land, which was donated by Mr. William Lloyd.
• Botanical Garden of Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dheradun
• C.E. Parkinson established the newest member of the family of the botanical gardens of India around 1934. Later on, N.L. Bor and M.B.
Raizada modified the garden and made many contributions to its herbarium. Exotic plants were introduced by S. Kedarnath around 1962.
• Lucknow’s National Botanic Garden
• This garden, previously known as Sikander, was established by Nawab Sadaat Ali Khan. Later on, this garden was enlarged and modified
by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, and he named the garden after his beloved wife. Gradually, this garden was converted into a botanical garden
by Professor K.N. Kaul around 1946.
 Importance of botanical gardens
• Serve as educational depictions of the environmental challenges our planet faces.
• Act as sanctuaries for the propagation, collection, and protection of plant life.
• Act as “outdoor laboratories” for students and researchers.
• Provide valuable information on various plants, local flora, bonsai, rare plants, etc.
• Supply a wide range of plant species, seeds, flowers, fruits for botanical research.
• Keep records of the local flora.
• Contain living plant material as well as preserved specimens that are needed for studies and research.
• Supply seeds and plants.
• Cultivate rare and unusual plants in a greenhouse.
• Botanical gardens are where plants of different varieties are collected and preserved, including all types of plants like medicinal,
ornamental, etc. They are useful and valuable to botanists and the tourists who visit these gardens. From several places in the world, a
prominent and renowned botanical garden has its plant species. They include the things which also actually made up a botanic garden are:
• The greenhouses
• A herbarium
• A library for storing the vast knowledge
• Gives qualitative and quantitative information for economic plants
• Research laboratories and many more
 Future Benefits
• Botanical gardens are still being built, such as the first botanical garden in Oman , which will be one of the largest gardens in
the world. Once completed, it will house the first large-scale cloud forest in a huge glass-house. Development of botanical
gardens in China over recent years has been remarkable, including the Hainan Botanical Garden of Tropical Economic
Plants South China Botanical Garden at Guangzhou, the Xishuangbanna Botanical Garden of Tropical Plants and the
Xiamen Botanic Garden, but in developed countries, many have closed for lack of financial support, this being especially
true of botanical gardens attached to universities.
• Botanical gardens have always responded to the interests and values of the day. If a single function were to be chosen from
the early literature on botanical gardens, it would be their scientific endeavour and, flowing from this, their instructional value.
In their formative years, botanical gardens were gardens for physicians and botanists, but then they progressively became
more associated with ornamental horticulture and the needs of the general public. The scientific reputation of a botanical
garden is now judged by the publications coming out of herbaria and similar facilities, not by its living Collections. The
interest in economic plants now has less relevance, and the concern with plant classification systems has all but
disappeared, while a fascination with the curious, beautiful and new seems unlikely to diminish.
• In recent times, the focus has been on creating an awareness of the threat to the Earth's ecosystems from human
populations and its consequent need for biological and physical resources. Botanical gardens provide an excellent medium
for communication between the world of botanical science and the general public. Education programs can help the public
develop greater environmental awareness by understanding the meaning and importance of ideas like conservation and
sustainability.
 Photo Gallery

Lloyd’s Botanical Garden, Darjeeling

University of British
Columbia Botanical Lalbagh Botanical Garden, Bangalore
Garden, Canada

Lucknow’s National Botanic Garden

Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Botanical Garden, Srinagar
 Conclusion
• The Botanic Garden serves as an institute for several types of botanical research, with a special emphasis on the flora of the surrounding
region. The Botanic Garden encompasses the entire core field of taxonomy as well as several applied fields such as silviculture (the
growing and maintaining of trees as a branch of forestry), horticul­ture (the art of garden maintenance), plant breeding, and many more. A
Botanic Garden may serve as a teaching Center for those who are interested in tree plantation and may provide training to those who
attend. Training (both theoretical and practical) is regularly offered by many government and public gardens, with a particular emphasis on
bonsai plant technique, flower arrangement, the preparation and presentation of dried flowers, the establishment of a kitchen garden, and
other related topics.
• The purpose of a botanical garden is to maintain the varieties of plant species as living plants in tissue culture and seed banks. This
collection of plants helps in educational purposes and scientific research. The botanical gardens play an essential part in ex-situ
conservation for different varieties of plants and in the site of in-situ conservation. These botanical gardens play a significant role in
sustaining these conservations and development. Thus we can consider gardens the second biggest classroom for gathering knowledge—
“in vitro” cultivation field gene bank research on reproductive biology. The honourable persons who have successfully established these
botanical gardens will always be recalled for their contributions. Knowing the variety of plants standing in just one plant won’t have been
possible without their contributions. Therefore botanical gardens are a vast source of knowledge for those fond of plants.