Hortus Botanicus (Amsterdam)
Encyclopedia
Hortus Botanicus is a botanical garden
in Amsterdam
, the Netherlands
. One of the oldest in the world, it is one of Amsterdam's major tourist attractions.
s.
The garden was almost bankrupt in 1987 when the University of Amsterdam stopped paying its expenses but a community of individual supporters prevented its closure. Now the Hortus Botanicus is supported by the Amsterdam City Council as well.
There are also two halls at the garden which are now used for conferences and ceremonies.
The collection is famous for some of its trees and plants, some of which are on the "danger" list, also well-known plants and trees can be found there, like the Persian Ironwood Tree which is known in Dutch
as Perzische Parrotia.
Hortus Botanicus's initial collection was amassed during the 17th century through plants and seeds brought back by traders of the East India Company
(VOC) for use as medicines and for their possibilities for commerce. A single coffee
plant, Coffea arabica, in Hortus's collection served as the parent for the entire coffee culture in Central and South America.
Likewise, two small potted oil palms brought back by the VOC from Mauritius
, an island in the Indian Ocean, produced seeds after six years, and these were propagated throughout all of Southeast Asia, becoming a major source of revenue in the Dutch East Indies
and now in Indonesia
.
In 1885-1918 Hugo de Vries
was the director of the garden.
Recent additions to Hortus include a huge hothouse, which incorporates three different tropical climates.
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...
in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. One of the oldest in the world, it is one of Amsterdam's major tourist attractions.
History
Hortus Botanicus was founded in 1638 by the city to serve as an herb garden for doctors and apothecaries. It contains more than six thousand tropical and indigenous trees and plants. The monumental Palm House dates from 1912 and is renowned for its collection of cycadCycad
Cycads are seed plants typically characterized by a stout and woody trunk with a crown of large, hard and stiff, evergreen leaves. They usually have pinnate leaves. The individual plants are either all male or all female . Cycads vary in size from having a trunk that is only a few centimeters...
s.
The garden was almost bankrupt in 1987 when the University of Amsterdam stopped paying its expenses but a community of individual supporters prevented its closure. Now the Hortus Botanicus is supported by the Amsterdam City Council as well.
There are also two halls at the garden which are now used for conferences and ceremonies.
Attraction
Hortus Botanicus is now one of the attractions of the Dutch capital for both Dutch and International visitors.The collection is famous for some of its trees and plants, some of which are on the "danger" list, also well-known plants and trees can be found there, like the Persian Ironwood Tree which is known in Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
as Perzische Parrotia.
Hortus Botanicus's initial collection was amassed during the 17th century through plants and seeds brought back by traders of the East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
(VOC) for use as medicines and for their possibilities for commerce. A single coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
plant, Coffea arabica, in Hortus's collection served as the parent for the entire coffee culture in Central and South America.
Likewise, two small potted oil palms brought back by the VOC from Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, an island in the Indian Ocean, produced seeds after six years, and these were propagated throughout all of Southeast Asia, becoming a major source of revenue in the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
and now in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
Hugo de Vries
Hugo Marie de Vries ForMemRS was a Dutch botanist and one of the first geneticists. He is known chiefly for suggesting the concept of genes, rediscovering the laws of heredity in the 1890s while unaware of Gregor Mendel's work, for introducing the term "mutation", and for developing a mutation...
was the director of the garden.
Recent additions to Hortus include a huge hothouse, which incorporates three different tropical climates.