Editing Botanical garden (section)

== History ==

{{further|History of botany}}

The history of botanical gardens is closely linked to the history of [[botany]] itself. The botanical gardens of the 16th and 17th centuries were medicinal gardens, but the idea of a botanical garden changed to encompass displays of the beautiful, strange, new and sometimes economically important plant trophies being returned from the European colonies and other distant lands.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hill|1915|p=210}}</ref> In the 18th century, they became more educational in function, demonstrating the latest plant classification systems devised by botanists working in the associated herbaria as they tried to order these new treasures. Then, in the 19th and 20th centuries, the trend was towards a combination of specialist and eclectic collections demonstrating aspects of both horticulture and botany.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hill|1915|pp=219–223}}</ref>

=== Precursors ===

The idea of "scientific" gardens used specifically for the study of plants dates back to antiquity.<ref name=Hya6912>{{harvnb|Hyams|MacQuitty|1969|p=12}}</ref> The origin of modern botanical gardens is generally traced to the appointment of botany professors to the medical faculties of universities in 16th-century Renaissance Italy, which entailed curating a medicinal garden. However, the objectives, content, and audience of today's botanic gardens more closely resembles that of the grandiose gardens of antiquity and the educational garden of [[Theophrastus]] in the Lyceum of ancient Athens.<ref name=Spencer>{{harvnb|Spencer|Cross|2017|p=56}}</ref>

==== Grand gardens of ancient history ====

[[File:Hanging Gardens of Babylon.jpg|thumb|The [[Hanging Gardens of Babylon]]<ref>{{harvnb|Dalley|1993|p=113}}</ref> with the [[Tower of Babel]] in the background, a 16th-century hand-coloured engraving by [[Martin Heemskerck]]]]

Near-eastern royal gardens set aside for economic use or display and containing at least some plants gained by special collecting trips or military campaigns abroad, are known from the second millennium BCE in [[ancient Egypt]], [[Mesopotamia]], [[Crete]], [[Mexico]] and [[China]].<ref>{{harvnb|Day|2010|pp=65–78}}</ref> In about 2800&nbsp;BCE, the Chinese Emperor [[Shen Nung]] sent collectors to distant regions searching for plants with economic or medicinal value.<ref>{{harvnb|Hill|1915|pp=185–186}}</ref> It has also been suggested that the [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|Spanish colonization of Mesoamerica]] influenced the history of the botanical garden<ref name=Hya6912 /> as gardens in [[Tenochtitlan]] established by king [[Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl|Nezahualcoyotl]],<ref>{{harvnb|Toby Evans|2010|pp=207–219}}</ref> also gardens in [[Chalco (altépetl)]] and elsewhere, greatly impressed the Spanish invaders, not only with their appearance, but also because the indigenous [[Aztec]]s employed many more medicinal plants than did the classical world of Europe.<ref>{{harvnb|Guerra|1966|pp=332–333}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hill|1915|p=187}}</ref>

Early medieval gardens in [[Islam in Spain|Islamic Spain]] resembled later botanic gardens, an example being the 11th-century Huerta del Rey garden of physician and author [[Ibn Wafid]] (999–1075 CE) in [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]]. This was taken over by garden chronicler [[Ibn Bassal]] (fl. 1085&nbsp;CE) until the Christian conquest in 1085&nbsp;CE. Ibn Bassal then founded a garden in Seville, most of its plants being collected on a botanical expedition that included Morocco, Persia, Sicily, and Egypt. The medical school of [[Montpellier]] was also founded by Spanish Arab physicians, and by 1250&nbsp;CE, it included a physic garden, but the site was not given botanic garden status until 1593.<ref>{{harvnb|Taylor|2006|p=57}}</ref>

==== Physic gardens ====

Botanical gardens developed from [[physic garden]]s, whose main purpose was to cultivate [[herb]]s for medical use as well as research and experimentation. Such gardens have a long history. In Europe, for example, [[Aristotle]] (384&nbsp;BCE – 322&nbsp;BCE) is said to have had a physic garden in the [[Lyceum#Aristotle's School and Library|Lyceum]] at Athens, which was used for educational purposes and for the study of botany, and this was inherited, or possibly set up, by his pupil [[Theophrastus]], the "Father of Botany".<ref>{{harvnb|Young|1987|p=7}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Thanos|2005}}</ref> There is some debate among science historians whether this garden was ordered and scientific enough to be considered "botanical"; instead, they attribute the earliest known botanical garden in Europe to the botanist and [[pharmacologist]] [[Antonius Castor]], mentioned by [[Pliny the Elder]] in the 1st century.{{sfn|Sarton|1993|p=556}}

The forerunners of modern botanical gardens are generally regarded as being the medieval monastic physic gardens that originated after the decline of the [[Roman Empire]] at the time of Emperor [[Charlemagne]] (742–789 CE). These contained a {{lang|la|hortus}}, a garden used mostly for vegetables, and another section set aside for specially labelled medicinal plants and this was called the {{lang|la|herbularis}} or {{lang|la|hortus medicus}}{{mdash}}more generally known as a physic garden, and a {{lang|la|viridarium}} or orchard.<ref>{{harvnb|Hill|1915|p=188}}</ref> Such gardens were given impetus by Charlemagne's [[Capitulary]] de Villis, which listed 73 herbs to be used in the physic gardens of his dominions. Many of these had already been introduced to British gardens.<ref>{{harvnb|Holmes|1906|pp=49–50}}</ref> [[Pope Nicholas V]] set aside part of the Vatican grounds in 1447, for a garden of medicinal plants that were used to promote the teaching of botany, and this was a forerunner to the University gardens at Padua and Pisa established in the 1540s.<ref>{{harvnb|Hyams|MacQuitty|1969|p=16}}</ref> Certainly the founding of many early botanic gardens was instigated by members of the medical profession.<ref>{{harvnb|Holmes|1906|p=54}}</ref>

===16th- and 17th-century European gardens===
{{Further|Herbal|Physic garden}}
[[File:Orto dei semplici PD 01.jpg|thumb|A 16th-century print of the [[Orto botanico di Padova|Botanical Garden of Padua]]—the oldest academic botanic garden still at its original location]]

In the 17th century, botanical gardens began their contribution to a deeper scientific curiosity about plants. If a botanical garden is defined by its scientific or academic connection, then the first true botanical gardens were established with the revival of learning that occurred in the European [[Renaissance]]. These were secular gardens attached to universities and medical schools, used as resources for teaching and research. The superintendents of these gardens were often professors of botany with international reputations, a factor that probably contributed to the creation of botany as an independent discipline rather than a descriptive adjunct to medicine.<ref>{{Harvnb|Williams|2011|p=148}}</ref>

==== Origins in the Italian Renaissance ====

The botanical gardens of [[Southern Europe]] were associated with university faculties of medicine and were founded in [[Italy]] at [[Orto botanico di Pisa]] (1544), [[Orto botanico di Padova]] (1545), [[Orto Botanico di Firenze]] (1545), [[Orto Botanico dell'Università di Pavia]] (1558) and [[Orto Botanico dell'Università di Bologna]] (1568).<ref group="nb">Precisely dating the foundation of botanical gardens is often difficult because government decrees may be issued some time before land is acquired and planting begins, or existing gardens may be relocated to new sites, or previously existing gardens may be taken over and converted.</ref> Here the physicians (known in English as [[Apothecary|apothecaries]]) delivered lectures on the Mediterranean "simples" or "[[officinal]]s" that were being cultivated in the grounds. Student education was no doubt stimulated by the relatively recent advent of printing and the publication of the first herbals.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hill|1915|pp=190–197}}</ref>

==== Northern Europe ====

The tradition of these Italian gardens spread across Europe, including among the earliest gardens 
[[Leipzig Botanical Garden]], Germany, 1543,<ref>{{cite web |title=Botanischer Garten der Universität Leipzig|url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/6653 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> the [[Botanical Garden of Valencia]], [[Habsburg Spain|Spain]], 1567;<ref>{{cite web |title=Jardí Botànic de la Universitat de València |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/6769 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> ''[[Hortus Botanicus Leiden]]'', Netherlands, 1590;<ref>{{cite web |title=Hortus Botanicus Leiden |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/5470 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> and ''[[Hortus Botanicus (Amsterdam)]]'', Netherlands, 1638),<ref>{{cite web |title=Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/4170 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> [[University of Oxford Botanic Garden]], England, 1621;<ref>{{cite web |title=Oxford Botanic Garden & Arboretum |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/4515 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> and [[Chelsea Physic Garden]], England, 1673;<ref>{{cite web |title=Chelsea Physic Garden |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/4559 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> [[Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh]], Scotland, 1670;<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/4566 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> ''[[Jardin des plantes de Montpellier]]'', France, 1593;<ref>{{cite web |title=Jardins des Plantes, Université Montpellier |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/3934 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> and ''[[Jardin des Plantes]]'', Paris, 1635;<ref>{{cite web |title=Jardins des Plantes, Paris (MNHN) |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/3936 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> [[University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden]], Denmark, 1600;<ref>{{cite web |title=Natural History Museum of Denmark Botanical Garden |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/5449 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> and [[Uppsala University]], Sweden, 1655.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Linnaean Gardens of Uppsala |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/4349 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref>

==== Beginnings of botanical science ====

[[File:Chelsea physic garden.jpg|thumb|The [[Chelsea Physic Garden]] was established in 1673.]]

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the first plants were being imported to these major [[Western Europe]]an gardens from [[Eastern Europe]] and nearby [[Asia]] (which provided many [[bulb]]s), and these found a place in the new gardens, where they could be conveniently studied by the plant experts of the day. For example, Asian introductions were described by [[Carolus Clusius]] (1526–1609), who was director, in turn, of the [[Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna]] and [[Hortus Botanicus Leiden]]. Many plants were being collected from the [[Near East]], especially bulbous plants from [[Turkey]]. Clusius laid the foundations of [[Netherlands|Dutch]] tulip breeding and the bulb industry, and he helped create one of the earliest formal botanical gardens of Europe at [[Leyden]] where his detailed planting lists have made it possible to recreate this garden near its original site. The {{lang|la|hortus medicus}} of Leyden in 1601 was a perfect square divided into quarters for the four continents, but by 1720, though, it was a rambling system of beds, struggling to contain the novelties rushing in,<ref>{{Harvnb|Drayton|2000|p=24}}</ref> and it became better known as the {{lang|la|hortus academicus}}. His ''[[Exoticorum libri decem]]'' (1605) is an important survey of exotic plants and animals that is still consulted today.<ref>See {{Harvnb|Ogilvie|2006}}</ref> <!--The inclusion of new plant introductions in botanic gardens meant their scientific role was now widening, as botany gradually asserted its independence from medicine.-->

In the mid to late 17th century, the Paris [[Jardin des Plantes]] was a centre of interest with the greatest number of new introductions to attract the public. In [[England]], the [[Chelsea Physic Garden]] was founded in 1673 as the "Garden of the Society of Apothecaries". The Chelsea garden had heated [[greenhouse]]s, and in 1723 appointed [[Philip Miller]] (1691–1771) as [[head gardener]]. He had a wide influence on both botany and horticulture, as plants poured into it from around the world. The garden's golden age came in the 18th century, when it became the world's most richly stocked botanical garden. Its seed-exchange programme was established in 1682 and still continues today.<ref>See {{Harvnb|Minter|2000}}</ref>

=== 18th century ===

==== Gardens and orangeries ====

{{further|Orangery}}

[[File:Kuskovo Orangery, Moscow, 1760s.jpg|thumb|[[Kuskovo|Kuskovo Orangery]] was designed by F. Argounov.]]

With the increase in [[maritime trade]], ever more plants were brought back to Europe as trophies from distant lands, and these were triumphantly displayed in the private estates of the wealthy, in commercial [[plant nursery|nurseries]], and in the public botanical gardens. Heated conservatories called "[[orangery|orangeries]]" became a feature of many botanical gardens.<ref name="Hill 1915 p200">{{Harvnb|Hill|1915|p=200}}</ref> 

[[File:Kew Gardens Palm House, London - July 2009.jpg|thumb|left |The [[Palm House, Kew]], built 1844–1848 by [[Richard Turner (iron-founder)|Richard Turner]] to [[Decimus Burton]]'s designs. [[Kew Gardens]], London, established 1759.]]

The [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] were founded in 1759, initially as part of the Royal Garden set aside as a physic garden. [[William Aiton]] (1741–1793), the first curator, was taught by garden chronicler [[Philip Miller]] of the Chelsea Physic Garden whose son Charles became first curator of the original [[Cambridge Botanic Garden]] (1762).<ref>{{Harvnb|Hill|1915|p=205}}</ref> In 1759, the "Physick Garden" was planted, and by 1767, it was claimed that "the Exotick Garden is by far the richest in Europe".<ref>Bute in {{Harvnb|Drayton|2000|p=43}}</ref> Gardens such as the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1759) and [[:es:Jardín de Aclimatación de la Orotava|Orotava Acclimatization Garden]] {{in lang|es}}, [[Tenerife]] (1788) and the [[Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid]] (1755) were set up to cultivate new species returned from expeditions to the tropics; they also helped found new tropical botanical gardens. From the 1770s, following the example of the [[Kingdom of France|French]] and [[History of Spain (1700–1810)|Spanish]], amateur collectors were supplemented by official horticultural and botanical plant hunters.<ref>{{Harvnb|Drayton|2000|p=46}}</ref> These botanical gardens were boosted by the flora being sent back to Europe from various European [[Colonialism|colonies around the globe]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Drayton|2000|p=xi}}</ref>

[[File:Kew Palm House.JPG|thumb|upright|Inside the [[Palm House, Kew Gardens]] ]]

At this time, British horticulturalists were importing many [[woody plant]]s from [[British America|Britain's colonies in North America]], and the popularity of horticulture had increased enormously, encouraged by the horticultural and botanical collecting expeditions overseas fostered by the directorship of [[William Jackson Hooker|Sir William Jackson Hooker]] and his keen interest in [[economic botany]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Drayton|2000|pp=93–94}}</ref> At the end of the 18th century, Kew, under the directorship of Sir [[Joseph Banks]], enjoyed a golden age of plant hunting, sending out collectors to the [[Cape Colony|South African Cape]], [[History of Australia (1788-1850)|Australia]], [[Captaincy General of Chile|Chile]], [[Qing dynasty|China]], [[British Ceylon|Ceylon]], [[Colonial Brazil|Brazil]], and elsewhere,<ref>{{Harvnb|Hill|1915|p=207}}</ref> and acting as "the great botanical exchange house of the [[British Empire]]".<ref>{{Harvnb|Drayton|2000|p=xiii}}</ref> From its earliest days to the present, Kew has in many ways exemplified botanic garden ideals, and is respected worldwide for the published work of its scientists, the education of horticultural students, its public programmes, and the scientific underpinning of its horticulture.<ref>See {{Harvnb|Desmond|2007}}</ref>

In 1728, [[John Bartram]] founded [[Bartram's Garden]] in [[Philadelphia]], one of the continent's first botanical gardens. The garden is now managed as a historical site that includes a few original and many modern specimens as well as extensive archives and restored historical farm buildings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/pa/pa3900/pa3904/data/pa3904data.pdf |title=HALS No. PA-1, John Bartram House & Garden |date=2004 |website=Historic American Landscapes Survey |publisher=Library of Congress |location=Washington, D.C. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222043304/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/pa/pa3900/pa3904/data/pa3904data.pdf |archive-date=22 February 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=h3>{{harvnb|Huxley|1992|p=376}}</ref>

==== Plant classification ====

{{further|Plant classification|Herbarium}}

The large number of plants needing description were listed in garden catalogues; and from 1753 [[Carl Linnaeus]] established the system of [[binomial nomenclature]] which greatly facilitated the listing process. Names of plants were authenticated by dried plant specimens mounted on card (a {{lang|la|hortus siccus}} or garden of dried plants) that were stored in buildings called [[herbarium|herbaria]], these [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomic]] research institutions being frequently associated with the botanical gardens, many of which by then had "order beds" to display the classification systems being developed by botanists in the gardens' museums and herbaria. Botanical gardens became scientific collections, as [[botanist]]s published their descriptions of the new exotic plants, and these were recorded for posterity in detail by superb botanical illustrations. Botanical gardens effectively dropped their medicinal function in favour of scientific and aesthetic priorities, and the term "botanic garden" came to be more closely associated with the herbarium, library (and later laboratories) housed there than with the living collections – on which little research was undertaken.<ref>{{harvnb|Heywood|1987|p=7}}</ref>

=== 19th century ===

{{further|Acclimatization}}

[[File:Serre cactees JdP.jpg|thumb|right|[[Greenhouse|Hothouse]], [[Jardin des Plantes]], built 1834–1836 by [[Charles Rohault de Fleury]]. Example of French glass and metal architecture.]]
[[File:Talcott Greenhouse VI.JPG|thumb|Talcott Greenhouse at [[Mount Holyoke College Botanic Garden]]]]

The late 18th and early 19th centuries were marked by the establishment of tropical botanical gardens as a tool of [[colonialism|colonial expansion]] (for trade and commerce and, secondarily, science) mainly by the British and Dutch, in [[British India|India]], [[South-east Asia]] and the [[Caribbean]].<ref name=h9>{{Harvnb|Heywood|1987|p=9}}</ref> This was also the time of Sir [[Joseph Banks]]'s botanical collections during Captain [[James Cook]]'s [[circumnavigation]]s of the planet and his explorations of [[Oceania]], with plant introductions on a grand scale.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gooley |first=Tristan |author-link=Tristan Gooley |title=The Natural Explorer |publisher=Sceptre |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-444-72031-0 |location=London |page=2}}</ref>

==== Tropical ====

There are currently about 230 tropical botanical gardens, many of them in southern and south-eastern Asia.<ref>{{Harvnb|Heywood|1987|p=13}}</ref> The first botanical garden founded in the tropics was the [[Pamplemousses Botanical Garden]] in [[Mauritius]], established in 1735 to provide food for ships using the port, but later trialling and distributing many plants of economic importance. This was followed by the [[West Indies]] ([[Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Botanic Gardens]], 1764) and in 1786 by the [[Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanical Garden]] in [[Calcutta]], India founded during a period of prosperity when the city was a trading centre for the [[Dutch East India Company]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Heywood|1987|p=8}}</ref> Other gardens were constructed in [[Brazil]] ([[Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden]], 1808), [[Sri Lanka]] ([[Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya|Botanic Gardens of Peradeniya]], 1821 and on a site dating back to 1371), [[Indonesia]] ([[Bogor Botanical Gardens]], 1817 and [[Kebun Raya Cibodas]], 1852), and [[Singapore]] ([[Singapore Botanical Gardens]], 1822). These had a profound effect on the economy of the countries, especially in relation to the foods and medicines introduced. The importation of [[Para rubber tree|rubber trees]] to the Singapore Botanic Garden initiated the important rubber industry of the [[Malay Peninsula]]. At this time also, [[teak]] and [[tea]] were introduced to India and [[breadfruit]], [[Piper (genus)|pepper]] and [[carambola|starfruit]] to the Caribbean.<ref name=bhist>{{cite web |url=http://www.bgci.org/resources/history |title=The History of Botanic Gardens |work=BGCI.org |publisher=BGCI |access-date=8 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111126072238/http://www.bgci.org/resources/history/ |archive-date=26 November 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Singapore Botanic Gardens, Eco-lake, panorama, Sep 06.jpg|thumb|upright=3.65|center|{{center|[[Singapore Botanic Gardens]], established in 1822. Eco-lake at the [[Bukit Timah]].}}]]

Included in the charter of these gardens was the investigation of the local [[flora]] for its economic potential to both the colonists and the local people. Many crop plants were introduced by or through these gardens{{spaced ndash}}often in association with European botanical gardens such as Kew or Amsterdam{{spaced ndash}}and included [[cloves]], [[tea]], [[coffee]], breadfruit, [[cinchona]], [[sugar]], [[cotton]], [[palm oil]] and ''[[Theobroma cacao]]'' (for chocolate).<ref name=h9 /> During these times, the rubber plant was introduced to Singapore.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hill|1915|pp=212–213}}</ref> Especially in the tropics, the larger gardens were frequently associated with a herbarium and museum of economy.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hill|1915|p=213}}</ref> The Botanical Garden of Peradeniya had considerable influence on the development of agriculture in [[Ceylon]] where the [[Para rubber tree]] ({{lang|la|Hevea brasiliensis}}) was introduced from Kew, which had itself imported the plant from [[South America]].<ref name=h9 /> Other examples include cotton from the Chelsea Physic Garden to the [[Province of Georgia]] in 1732 and tea into India by Calcutta Botanic Garden.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hill|1915|p=222}}</ref> The transfer of [[germplasm]] between the temperate and tropical botanical gardens was undoubtedly responsible for the range of agricultural crops currently used in several regions of the tropics.<ref>{{Harvnb|Heywood|1987|p=10}}</ref>

==== Temperate ====

[[File:Castle Rock from Kirstenbosch.jpg|thumb|Part of [[Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden]], with native [[protea]] flowers in the foreground, and Castle Rock in the background]]

The first botanical gardens in [[Australia]] were founded early in the 19th century. The [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney]], 1816; the [[Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens]], 1818; the [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne]], 1845; [[Adelaide Botanic Gardens]], 1854; and [[City Botanic Gardens|Brisbane Botanic Gardens]], 1855. These were established essentially as [[Colonial Revival garden|colonial gardens]] of economic botany and acclimatisation.<ref>Looker in {{Harvnb|Aitken|Looker|2002|p=98}}</ref>

South Africa has 10 national-level botanical gardens, all overseen by the [[South African National Biodiversity Institute]].<ref>{{cite web |title=National botanical gardens include Kirstenbosch, Harold Porter, Walter Sisulu, Pretoria, Lowveld, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal; local botanical gardens include Johannesburg and Durban |url=https://www.southafrica.net/gl/en/travel/article/south-africa-s-botanical-gardens |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=www.southafrica.net}}</ref> The oldest in South Africa is the 1851 [[Durban Botanic Gardens]]. The [[Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden]] is the most famous and developed garden in the country, established in 1913, on a site dating to 1848. It covers 36 [[hectare]]s, with an additional 528 hectares of mountainside wilderness forming part of the garden.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, Cape Town |url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/kirstenbosch-national-botanical-gardens-cape-town |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=www.sahistory.org.za}}</ref> [[Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden]] is South Africa's oldest university botanical garden;<ref>{{cite web |title=Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden |url=http://www.sun.ac.za/english/entities/botanical-garden/Pages/default.aspx |publisher=Stellenbosch University |access-date=2 February 2025}}</ref> it was established in 1922. Also in the country is the [[Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden]], founded in 1921 and relocated in 1945.<ref>{{cite web |title=Karoo Desert: History |date=8 March 2018 |url=https://www.sanbi.org/gardens/karoo-desert/history/ |publisher=South African National Biodiversity Institute |access-date=2 February 2025}}</ref> Elsewhere in Africa, [[Orman Garden]] at [[Giza]] in [[Egypt]] was founded in 1875.<ref>{{cite web |title=Orman Botanic Garden |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/606 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref>

[[File:Palm greenhouse (exterior).JPG|thumb|The [[palm house]] of the [[Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden]], founded in 1714 ]]

Presidents [[George Washington]], [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[James Madison]], all experienced farmers, shared the dream of a national botanic garden, leading to the founding in 1820 of the [[United States Botanic Garden]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usbg.gov/brief-history-us-botanic-garden |title=Brief History of the U.S. Botanic Garden |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=usbg.gov |publisher=United States Botanic Garden |access-date=10 June 2013}}</ref> next to the [[United States Capitol|Capitol]] in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington DC]]. In 1859, the [[Missouri Botanical Garden]] was founded at [[St Louis, Missouri]]; it is one of the world's leading gardens specializing in tropical plants.<ref name=h3/> 

[[Russia]]'s botanical gardens include [[:ru:Аптекарский огород|Moscow University Botanic Garden ('the Apothecary Garden'), (1706)]] founded by Tsar [[Peter the Great]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Aptekarsky Ogorod |url=https://www.gardenvisit.com/gardens/aptekarsky_ogorod |website=Gardenvisit.com |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> and the [[Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden]], (1714).{{sfn|Desmond|1994|p=284}}

=== 20th century ===

[[File:Aswan, Kitchener's Island, palm alley, Egypt, Oct 2004.jpg|thumb|upright|20th-century botanical garden on [[Kitchener's Island]], [[Aswan, Egypt]]]]

[[File:Chicago Botanic Garden - Zig Zag Bridge.jpg|thumb|[[Chicago Botanic Garden]], with a view of the [[zig-zag bridge]] ]]

==== Civic and municipal botanical gardens ====

A large number of civic or municipal botanical gardens were founded in the 19th and 20th centuries. These did not develop scientific facilities or programmes, but the horticultural aspects were strong and the plants often labelled. They were botanical gardens in the sense of building up collections of plants and exchanging seeds with other gardens around the world, although their collection policies were determined by those in day-to-day charge of them. They tended to become little more than beautifully maintained parks and were, indeed, often under general parks administrations.<ref>{{Harvnb|Heywood|1987|pp=10–16}}</ref>

==== Community engagement ====

The second half of the 20th century saw increasingly sophisticated educational, visitor service, and interpretation services. Botanical gardens started to cater for many interests and their displays reflected this, often including botanical exhibits on themes of [[evolution]], [[ecology]] or [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomy]], horticultural displays of attractive [[flowerbed]]s and [[herbaceous border]]s, plants from different parts of the world, special collections of plant groups such as [[bamboo]]s or [[rose]]s, and specialist glasshouse collections such as tropical plants, [[alpine plant]]s, [[cactus|cacti]] and [[Orchidaceae|orchids]], as well as the traditional herb gardens and medicinal plants. Specialised gardens like the [[Palmengarten]] in [[Frankfurt]], Germany (1869), one of the world's leading orchid and [[succulent plant]] collections, have been very popular.<ref name=h11/> With decreasing financial support from governments, revenue-raising public entertainment increased, including music, art exhibitions, special botanical exhibitions, theatre and film, this being supplemented by the advent of "Friends" organisations and the use of volunteer guides.<ref>Looker in {{Harvnb|Aitken|Looker|2002|pp=99–100}}</ref>

==== Plant conservation ====

Plant conservation and the heritage value of exceptional historic landscapes were treated with a growing sense of urgency through the 20th century. Specialist gardens were sometimes given a separate or adjoining site, to display native and indigenous plants.<ref name=Hux92375/> In the 1970s, gardens became focused on plant conservation. The Botanic Gardens Conservation Secretariat was established by the [[IUCN]] and the [[World Conservation Union]] in 1987 with the aim of coordinating the plant conservation efforts of botanical gardens around the world. It maintains a database of rare and endangered species in botanical gardens' living collections. Many gardens hold [[ex situ conservation|''ex situ'' conservation]] collections that preserve [[genetic variation]]. These may be held as seeds dried and stored at low temperature, or in tissue culture (such as the Kew [[Millennium Seedbank]]); as living plants, including those that are of special horticultural, historical or scientific interest (such as those in the [[National Plant Collection]] in the United Kingdom); or by managing and preserving areas of natural vegetation. Collections are often held and cultivated with the intention of [[reintroduction]] to their original habitats.<ref>See {{Harvnb|Simmons|Beyer|Brandham|Lucas|1976}}</ref> 

=== 21st century ===

==== New gardens ====

[[File:Eden project.JPG|thumb|The [[Eden Project]], established in 2000 in [[Cornwall]], England, includes a modern botanical garden exploring the theme of [[sustainability]].]]

Botanical gardens have continued to be built in the 21st century, such as the first botanical garden in [[Oman]], which is planned to be one of the largest gardens in the world, with the first large-scale [[cloud forest]] in a huge glasshouse.<ref name=bhist/><ref>{{cite web |title=The Project : Muscat, Oman |url=https://omanbotanicgarden.om/ |website=Oman Botanic Garden |access-date=3 February 2025 |date=2025}}</ref> Development of botanical gardens in China over recent years has been remarkable, including the [[Hainan]] Botanical Garden of Tropical Economic Plants at Guangzhou,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bgci.org/garden.php?id=949 |title=Hainan Botanical Garden of Tropical Economic Plants |work=BGCI.org |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=8 November 2011}}</ref> [[South China Botanical Garden]] the [[Xishuangbanna]] Botanical Garden of Tropical Plants and the [[Xiamen]] Botanic Garden.<ref>{{Harvnb|Heywood|1987|p=12}}</ref> In [[developed country|developed countries]], on the other hand, many have closed for lack of financial support, especially those attached to universities.<ref name=Hux92375 /> The [[Palestine Museum of Natural History]] has a botanic garden, which has been described as a site of nation-building and resistance by Silvia Hassouna.<ref name="Hassouna 2023">{{Cite journal |last=Hassouna |first=Silvia |date=2023-09-13 |title=Cultivating biodiverse futures at the (postcolonial) botanical garden |journal=Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers |volume=49 |issue=2 |doi=10.1111/tran.12639 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

==== Missions and strategy ====

The [[Center for Plant Conservation]] at [[St Louis, Missouri]], coordinates the conservation of native North American species.<ref>{{Harvnb|Huxley|1992|p=377}}</ref> The 2006 ''North American Botanic Garden Strategy for Plant Conservation'' sets out its goals to document and conserve plant diversity, to use that diversity sustainably, to educate the public about plant diversity, build conservation capacity, and to build support for the strategy itself.<ref>{{cite web |title=North American Botanic Garden Strategy for Plant Conservation |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |year=2006 |url=http://www.bgci.org/files/Worldwide/Conservation/north_american_plant_conservation_strategy.pdf}}</ref>

A 2024 review in a special issue of the ''Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens'' on the sustainability of botanic gardens noted their increasing roles in conservation and research, and the many new gardens created since 1950. In its view, the gardens are being "reinvent[ed]" to serve the goals of conservation, sustainability, and social engagement. It observes that historically, the gardens emerged in an era that saw both the growth of modern science and the colonial era. In response, the gardens have engaged in decolonising and in "new socio-environmental missions". Finally, it attempts to view the gardens on a global scale.<ref name="Neves 2024">{{cite journal |last=Neves |first=Katja Grötzner |title=Botanic Gardens in Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainability: History, Contemporary Engagements, Decolonization Challenges, and Renewed Potential |journal=Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens |volume=5 |issue=2 |date=31 May 2024 |doi=10.3390/jzbg5020018 |doi-access=free |pages=260–275}}</ref> 
A 2023 historical review by Chinese botanists similarly notes the long history of botanical gardens from the medicinal gardens of the first universities in [[Renaissance]] Europe, and from China's ancient [[Shennong]] herbal garden tradition. The gardens have in its view continuously adapted to new demands in a changing environment, coming to serve the "core mission of [[Ex situ conservation|''ex situ'' conservation]]".<ref name="Liao Ni He 2023">{{cite journal |last1=Liao |first1=Jingping |last2=Ni |first2=Dujuan |last3=He |first3=Tuo |last4=Huang |first4=Hongwen |title=Historical review, current status and future prospects of global botanical gardens |journal=Biodiversity Science |volume=31 |issue=9 |date=2023 |doi=10.17520/biods.2023256 |doi-access=free |page=23256 |url=https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/article/downloadArticleFile.do?attachType=PDF&id=97919 |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref>

Botanical gardens must find a compromise between the need for peace and seclusion, while at the same time satisfying the public need for information and visitor services that include restaurants, information centres and sales areas that bring with them rubbish, noise, and [[hyperactivity]]. Attractive [[landscaping]] and planting design sometimes compete with scientific interests&nbsp;— with science now often taking second place. Some gardens are now heritage landscapes that are subject to constant demand for new exhibits and exemplary environmental management.<ref>{{cite web |title=Environmental management |url=http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/horticulture/environmental-management |access-date=6 August 2010 |publisher=[[Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne]] |date=8 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731004007/http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/horticulture/environmental-management |archive-date=31 July 2010}}</ref>