BONN UNIVERSITY BOTANIC GARDEN
BONN UNIVERSITY BOTANIC GARDEN |
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HISTORY AND SIZEThe history of the Botanic Garden, one of the oldest and most traditional gardens north of the Alps, goes back more than 400 years. The existence of a castle and a simple garden here is first recorded in a pen and ink drawing dated 1578. In the 17th Century, one of the most splendid gardens of the time was laid out, including orangeries (the forerunners of greenhouses). In the 18th Century, the rococo-style Clemensruh Palace (Poppelsdorfer Schloss) was built (c. 1740-47). The garden as we know it dates from the foundation of the University in 1818, and its boundaries coincide closely with those of the Elector's park. Two beech trees from the old baroque garden still stand. The garden's founder and first director (1818-30) was Nees von Esenbeck. The total area is 6 ha (15 acres) of which greenhouses occupy 0.25 ha (about 0.6 acres). In addition we have a separate area in the Melb valley which is not open to the public.THE GARDENOut-of-doors, the collections consist of the park-like ARBORETUM (tree collection) and various BEDS containing herbaceous and woody plants used for teaching purposes (including systematic botany, ecology and phytogeography, flower and fruit biology, and medicinal plants).The arboretum contains about 700 conifers and broadleaved trees, including some exotic species not seen elsewhere in Germany because of the very mild winters in Bonn. Of special interest are the Chile Pine or Monkey Puzzle (Araucaria araucana) planted c.1930, and the Lacebark Pine, Pinus bungeana, from China. About 3000 species are grown to illustrate and demonstrate scientific topics. The 'Plant Communities Section', currently being laid out, will show all the natural plant communities to be found around Bonn, from the reed-swamps of the Sieg river to the dry limestone grassland of the Eifel, with particular emphasis on the threatened species of the Rhineland. The 'Systematic Section' (Order Beds) includes c. 1200 species and demonstrates the diagnostic features and relationships of numerous plant families. The 'Flower and Fruit Biology Section' illustrates how flowers are adapted to different pollinators, and different seed-dispersal mechanisms. The 'Medicinal Plants
Section' contains some of the most common medicinal plants, indicating
their propoerties and the substances responsible.
GREENHOUSESThe GREENHOUSE-complex consists of 9 inter-connected houses containing the main collection of c. 4500 species and 4 smaller greenhouses. Several of the houses are used for propagation only and are not open to the public.A sign-posted route takes
the visitor through the Palm, Fern, Mangrove,
Victoria and Succulent Houses and past the Orchids. In summer, the large
pot-grown plants from the Temperate Houses are put outside in geographical
groups adjacent to the greenhouses. Of special interest is the Victoria
House, where the large floating leaves of Victoria amazonica and
other water-lilies can be seen during most of the year. Climbing species
of Aristolochia -, Ipomoea- and Passiflora- enhance
the impression of tropical lushness. In the Mangrove House there are big
tubs of Amorphophallus
titanum, whose flower-spikes can grow to a height of 2.5 m.
FUNCTIONS OF THE GARDENThe Botanic Garden is one of the University's scientific institutions, and accordingly its main functions are scientific and educational. It has to supply material for lectures and course at the Institute of Botany, and also serves as a `lecture theatre' and research institute in its own right. Numerous plants, some of them collected on travels abroad, are used for research. Each year the garden publishes a seedlist (Index Seminum) of c. 1500 species which is sent to 900 exchange partners worldwide. Other important tasks are the cultivation of plants whose wild populations are threatened with extinction,and the establishment of special `reserve' collections of threatened groups, like the epiphytic cacti of the tropical American forests, the endemic flora of the Cape Verde islands, and the genus Cyclamen. Amongst the garden's rarities are one of the last examples of the Toromiro, Sophora toromiro, once endemic to Easter island but now extinct there, and the last surviving specimen from Nordrhein-Westfalia of the native German orchid Liparis loeselii. Both of these species are being propagated with a view to reintroducing them to their natural habitat. In addition to all these activities, the botanic garden is `open house' to school classes and individual students, young and old, who would like to learn about plants. And so far as its original purpose allows, the botanic garden is also a place to relax and take it easy in the busy centre of Bonn.OPENING HOURS1. April - 31. October:
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