The Orto Botanico dell'Università della Calabria (8 hectares) is a 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...

 operated by the University of Calabria

University of Calabria

The University of Calabria is a state-run university in Italy.Located in Arcavacata di Rende, a suburb of Cosenza, the university was founded in 1972...

. It is located at I-87030 Via Pietro Bucci, Arcavacata di Rende

Rende

- Churches :Miracle of St. James]]* Church of Our Lady of the AssumptionThe small building rises not far from the old church rebuilt several times and destroyed by a landslide. The old chapel were two columns, which still are the pillars of the new, and a marble bas-relief: the miracle of Saint...

, Province of Cosenza

Province of Cosenza

The Province of Cosenza is a province in the Calabria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Cosenza.It has an area of 6,650 km², and a total population of 733,797 . It is the biggest Calabrian Province...

, Calabria

Calabria

Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

The garden contains over 400 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of local Calabria

Calabria

Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....

n plants, as well as nonlocal introductions. Its natural vegetation is oak, primarily Quercus pubescens, with additional plantings of other oaks including Q. coccifera, Q. farnetto, Q. macrolepis

Quercus macrolepis

Quercus macrolepis, the Valonia oak, is a tree in the family Fagaceae.It is found in the Southern Mediterranean, in the Balkans including the Greek Islands, in Morocco, and in Asia Minor.-Description:...

, Q. pedunculata, and Q. trojana. Other trees include alder

Alder

Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...

s, poplar

Poplar

Populus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood....

s, and willow

Willow

Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...

s, with the addition of Liriodendron

Liriodendron

Liriodendron is a genus of two species of characteristically large deciduous trees in the magnolia family .These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their large flowers superficially resembling tulips, but are closely related to magnolias rather than lilies, the...

, Metasequoia

Metasequoia

Metasequoia is a fast-growing, deciduous tree, and the sole living species, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, is one of three species of conifers known as redwoods. It is native to the Sichuan-Hubei region of China. Although the least tall of the redwoods, it grows to at least 200 feet in height...

, and Taxodium

Taxodium

Taxodium is a genus of one to three species of extremely flood-tolerant conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae...

. The garden also contains two bamboo groves (Phyllostachys

Phyllostachys

Phyllostachys is a genus of bamboo. The species are native to Asia with a large number of species found in Central China, but can now be found in many temperate and semi-tropical areas around the world as cultivated plants or escapes from cultivation...

), and plantings of Equisetum telmateia

Equisetum telmateia

Equisetum telmateia is a species of Equisetum with an unusual distribution, with one subspecies native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa, and a second subspecies native to western North America...

, Ginkgo biloba, Osmunda regalis, Podocarpus

Podocarpus

Podocarpus is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family Podocarpaceae. The 105 species of Podocarpus are evergreen shrubs or trees from 1-25 m in height...

, and Polypodium

Polypodium

Polypodium is a genus of 75–100 species of true ferns, widely distributed throughout the world, with the highest species diversity in the tropics. The name is derived from Ancient Greek poly "many" + podion "little foot", on account of the foot-like appearance of the rhizome and its branches...

.

The garden includes two greenhouses. The first contains plants such as Adiantum capillus-veneris

Adiantum capillus-veneris

Adiantum capillus-veneris, the Southern maidenhair fern, black maidenhair fern, and venus hair fern, is a species of fern in the genus Adiantum with a subcosmopolitan worldwide distribution...

, Cyperus papyrus

Cyperus papyrus

Cyperus papyrus is a monocot belonging to the sedge family Cyperaceae. It is a herbaceous perennial native to Africa, and forms tall stands of reed-like swamp vegetation in shallow water....

, Pinguicula hirtiflora, Pteris cretica, Pteris vittata

Pteris vittata

Pteris vittata, commonly known variously as the Chinese brake, Chinese ladder brake, or simply ladder brake, is a species of fern in the genus Pteris. It is indigenous to Asia, tropical Africa and Australia. The type specimen was collected in China by Pehr Osbeck.-Habitat and distribution:Pteris...

, and Woodwardia radicans. The second contains wetland plants including Acorus calamus, Marsilea strigosa, Menyanthes trifoliata, Osmunda regalis,etc.