California State University Northridge Botanic Garden
Encyclopedia
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
, in the southeast section ( 'quadrant' ) of the California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge is a public university in Northridge, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, California, United States....
campus in the community of Northridge in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
The 1.5 acre (0.607029 ha) site includes a 1 acre (0.404686 ha) botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
and approximately 0.5 acre (0.202343 ha) of nursery, shadehouse, and greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
zones. The botanic gardens were established shortly after the campus was established in 1959, as a Valley branch of California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Los Angeles is a public comprehensive university, part of the California State University system...
(CSULA). It has grown through the administrations of succeeding Cal State San Fernando Valley and the present day CSUN Biology Department.
Collections
The Botanic Garden was originally planted exclusively with Californian native plantsCalifornia native plants
California native plants are plants that existed in California prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in the late 18th century...
in 1959. Since then the garden has evolved and expanded into a diverse collection representing many different geographic regions and themes, with over 1,200 species and cultivars present.
The different sections of the garden contain: tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s, palms, shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s, 'subshrubs,' perennials, bulb
Bulb
A bulb is a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases. The leaves often function as food storage organs during dormancy.A bulb's leaf bases, known as scales, generally do not support leaves, but contain food reserves to enable the plant to survive adverse conditions. At the center of the bulb is...
s, cacti
Cacti
-See also:* RRDtool The underlying software upon which Cacti is built* MRTG The original Multi Router Traffic Grapher from which RRDtool was "extracted".* Munin -External links:******...
, succulents, herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
s, annual plant
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
s and wildflower
Wildflower
A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...
s, ground covers, butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
and beneficial insect sustainers, edibles, and other plant types from; California and the other four Mediterranean climate plant regions
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, defined by the World Wildlife Fund, characterized by dry summers and rainy winters. Summers are typically hot in low-lying inland locations but can be cool near some seas, as near San Francisco, which have a sea of cool waters...
of the world, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, and other continents and regions. An ethnobotanical and a contemporary water-conserving landscape are being developed.
Public activities
- The Botanic Garden is open to the public Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. It is closed weekends and university holidays, and occasionally during extreme weather. The entrance is reached via parking structures off Nordhoff or Zelzah (depending on campus construction).
- The CSUN Botanic Garden has short courses on a wide variety of garden topics by horticultural experts for the public. It also sponsors 'CSUN-al Gardening', a series of four free gardening-themed classes a year. The gardens also gives K-12 school tours.
See also
- California Native Plant SocietyCalifornia Native Plant SocietyThe California Native Plant Society is a California not-for-profit organization that seeks to increase understanding of California's native flora and to preserve that flora. Its "paramount purpose is to preserve wild plants".-History:...
- List of botanical gardens in the United States
- Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrubMediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrubMediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, defined by the World Wildlife Fund, characterized by dry summers and rainy winters. Summers are typically hot in low-lying inland locations but can be cool near some seas, as near San Francisco, which have a sea of cool waters...
- Natural landscapingNatural landscaping.Natural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the use of native plants, including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are indigenous to the geographic area of the garden.-Maintenance:...
- Sustainable landscapingSustainable landscapingSustainable landscaping encompasses a variety of practices that have developed in response to environmental issues. These practices are used in every phase of landscaping, including design, construction, implementation and management of residential and commercial landscapes. Issues of...
- Wildlife garden
- XeriscapingXeriscapingXeriscaping and xerogardening refers to landscaping and gardening in ways that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water from irrigation...