Essay on the Botanic Gardens: Top 5 Essays | Gardens | World | Botany

Here is a compilation of essays on the ‘Botanic Gardens’ for class 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on the ‘Botanic Gardens’ especially written for school and college students.

Essay on the Botanic Gardens

Essay Contents:

1. Essay on the Functions of Botanic Gardens
2. Essay on the Importance of Botanic Garden
3. Essay on the Role of Botanic Gardens
4. Essay on the Names of Botanic Gardens
5. Essay on Indian Botanic Garden, Sibpur, Howrah (1787)

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Essay # 1. Functions of Botanic Garden:

1. Botanic Garden performs as an institute for different types of botanical research, particularly the flora of that region.

2. The entire fundamental i.e., taxonomy and many applied researches e.g., silvi­culture (the growing and tending of trees as a branch of forestry); horticul­ture (the art of garden cultivation), plant breeding etc., come within the territory of Botanic Garden.

3. A Botanic Garden may act as a training centre to conduct training for the per­sons interested in tree plantation. Many government and public gardens regular­ly conduct training (both theoretical and practical), especially on technique of making bonsai plant, flower arrange­ment, preparation and display of dry flowers, development of kitchen gar­den, etc.

4. The plants of the Botanic Garden are grown and labelled properly with their scientific name and with a note inclu­ding the name of its native country. From the above, the students of botany get an idea about the phytogeographical distribution of the plants.

5. Perennial plants of different countries are planted in different plots according to their habitat, thereby students and inte­rested persons are able to get an idea about the vegetation of that country.

6. Botanic Gardens act as an educational centre for students (School, College and University) and also the interested per­sons.

7. The beauty of the Botanic Garden and its charming environment gives pleasure and enjoyment to the general public.

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Essay # 2. Importance of Botanic Garden:

1. Due to overgrowing population it seems that the tropical ecosystems are on the margin or edge of extinction. For the above, the Botanic Gardens throughout the country have taken special role in the conservation of tropical plants.

2. Botanic Gardens also play a very impor­tant role in maintaining germ-plasm bank of different plants and act as a depository of ‘extinct’ and ‘endangered’ plants.

3. Botanic Gardens play an important role in the ex situ conservation of plant species.

4. Botanic Gardens act as ‘outdoor labora­tory’ for the students and also for research workers.

5. Recently the Gardens are considered as a very useful centres for acclimatisation (accustoming to a new climate) studies, store house of ornamental plants of different countries.

6. Many Botanic Gardens organise popu­lar courses for interested persons about:

i. Making of Bonsai plants.

ii. Tapiary (pruning of trees or shrubs to get different shapes like different animals and birds).

iii. Flower arrangement.

iv. Preparation and display of dry flow­ers.

v. Gardening.

vi. Landscape gardening (art or prac­tice of laying out ornamental grounds in a miniature form inti­mating natural scenery), etc.

With the above training people can learn about and can earn a lot through commer­cial implementation.

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Essay # 3. Role of Botanic Gardens:

1. Role of Botanic Garden in Conservation Strategies:

Biodiversity can be defined as “the variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur”. The environment is under a constant pressure to change, mainly due to urbanisation and of mod­ern high technology farming.

Thus the protection of plants, either in a restricted place or to protect them in their natural habitat through restriction, is essential to preserve genetic diversity i.e., con­servation.

Thus, conservation may be defined as “the planning and management of resources in a way so as to secure their wider use and conti­nuous supply, maintaining their quality, value and diversity”. Through conservation different types of diversity, like species diversity — gene­tic diversity and community or ecological diver­sity — can be preserved.

Conservation can be done in two ways:

1. Ex-Situ or Off-Site Conservation:

In this pro­cess the species of a plant can be preserved (prevented from extinction) in artificial con­dition under the supervision of human beings.

2. In-Situ or On-Site Conservation:

In this pro­cess the species of a plant can be preserved in its area of natural distribution.

Botanic Garden is a place where the plants of different countries are grown and maintained according to their habitat and importance. Here the plants of different phytogeographical regions, ornamental plants, economically important plants and also the plants facing danger of extinction are grown and maintained under strict scientific monitoring. Hence, Botanic Garden plays an active role not only in academic and economical benefit, but also in ex-situ conserva­tion of biodiversity.

Conference on Botanic Gardens and the World Conservation Strategies (W.C.S) was held in Las Palnas Gran Canaria in 1985, to review the role of Botanic Gardens in implementing the conservation strategies and to discuss to make gardens more effective in conservation of plants. The conservation strategy of Botanic Garden out­lines the contributions that it can make to achieve what the W.C.S wants.

These are:

1. To maintain essential ecological pro­cesses and life support system;

2. To preserve genetic diversity, and

3. To ensure that the utilisation of species and ecosystem is sustainable.

The Botanic gardens will grow more plants for conservation:

1. To cultivate as many as threatened species as practicable for conservation;

2. To cultivate with proper care the arti­ficially threatened species to prevent genetic erosion;

3. To make available for research work, educational programme and to display for the general visitors;

4. To make available more plants and their propagating stocks like seeds etc., to reintroduce into the other parts of the world and also to reinforce in wild population in the previous or/and other new areas.

2. Role of Botanic Gardens in Ex-Situ Conservation:

During ex-situ conservation the entire plant or any of its parts (i.e., the propagating stock) can be conserved. The long term alternative of in-situ conservation is the ex-situ conservation in Botanic Garden, where the plants as a whole or its propagating stocks are conserved properly.

Thus ex-situ conservation of plants in Botanic Gardens can provide stimulus to research workers and also to serve the future management of plants available in in-situ condition. Simultaneously, the Botanic Garden can increase public awareness about the plant and/or plants through publicity.

3. Role of Botanic Gardens in Seed and Gene Banking:

It is necessary to build up seed banks in as large amount as possible with the seeds collec­ted from the species in the field where they are distributed. The gene bank conserves propa­gating stock — commonly seeds, pollens of a threatened species —at the temperature of liquid nitrogen. Botanic Gardens are the best place to set up seed banks of wild plants with the aim of preserving rare or threatened plants which will be available for future research and also for applied purposes.

Some Botanic Gardens play an active role in exchange of germplasm and/or plant as a whole of economi­cally important species from one part to other part of the world. Seed banking of crop plants is usually co-ordinated by the International Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR). It is also involved in collecting and storing the wild species of different genera like Phaseolus, Glycine, Brassica, Arachis, etc.

In Wakehuest Place, the satellite garden of Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, England have been conserved the seeds of Brassicaceae from West Mediterenial region. National Botanic Garden Research Institute, Uttar Pradesh, India, is very active in seed banking.

Cryopreservation through gene bank and seed bank and also through ex-situ conservation are the important ways to restore the threatened and endangered taxa. The Botanic Gardens of the different corners of the world have func­tioned as medicinal gardens, herbal gardens, economic species garden etc. — they conserve huge number of germplasm of the world flora. Gardens attached with Botany and Horticulture Departments of different universities can play a historic role in the preservation and exchange programme.

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Essay # 4. Names of Botanic Gardens:

The names of some Botanic Gardens are:

A. Some Botanic Gardens of the World:

1. Botanic Garden of Padua, Padua, Italy (1545).

2. Botanic Garden of Heidelberg, Germany (1595).

3. National Museum of Natural History, Paris, France (1635).

4. Botanic Garden and Museum, Berlin, Germany (1646).

5. Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburg, Scotland (1670).

6. Botanic Garden of the Academy of Sciences, Leningrad, Russia (1712).

7. Jardin Botanico do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1808).

8. Nikitisky Botanic Garden, Yalta (1812).

9. Kebun Raya (Botanic Garden) Bogor, Java (1817).

10. Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, London (1841).

11. Missouri Botanic Garden, U.S.A. (1859).

12. Arnold Arboretum, Boston, U.S.A. (1872).

13. New York Botanic Garden, U.S.A. (1891).

14. Montreal Botanic Garden, Montreal, Canada (1936).

B. Botanic Gardens of India:

1. Indian Botanic Garden, Sibpur, Kolkata (1787).

2. Lloyd Botanic Garden, Darjeeling, West Bengal (1878).

3. National Botanic Garden, Lucknow (1946).

4. The Mysore State Botanic Garden, Bangalore, Karnataka (1856).

5. Garden of the Forest Research Institute, Dehra Doon (1934).

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Essay # 5. Indian Botanic Garden, Sibpur, Howrah (1787):

It is one of the greatest Botanic Gardens of the world. Col. Robert Kyd, a Military Engineer of the East India Company, was a lover of gardening. He planed to develop the nursery of different plants of economic importance, such as medi­cinal plants, timber trees, spices etc., and grow them in the garden.

The seedling could be distributed to cultivate in different parts of the country and the Company would get the profit directly from the increase of trade and commerce. With the prior permission of the East India Company, Col. Robert Kyd established the gar­den in July 1787 at Sibpur, Howrah, Bengal (now West Bengal).

The garden covers an area of about 273 acres of land by the side of the Ganges. At that time Col. Kyd was appointed the Hony. Superintendent. Initially the garden was named as Hon’ble East India Company’s Botanical Garden. Later, when the East India Company went under the British crown, it was named as Royal Botanical Garden.

The Garden and its Herbarium (Central National Herbarium) were handed over to the Government of West Bengal after independence in 1947. Now it is called Indian Botanic Garden as a section of the Botanical Survey of India. Now the garden con­tains many plants of tropical regions of the world.

Col. Robert Kyd arranged the Garden accor­ding to his own idea, but he died after 6 years. Later, William Roxburgh was appointed as Superintendent of the garden and worked up to 1813.

He introduced many interesting plants and gave the Garden a botanical shape. He prepared and published a catalogue of the plants culti­vated in the Garden at that time. He had many important contributions on Indian flora and is known as the ‘Father of Indian Botany’.

Later, Roxburgh was succeeded by Dr. Nathanial Wallich. The Herbarium, which is now known as Central National Herbarium, was started by him. He also made many important contributions on Indian flora.

After that, the Garden was headed by many renowned botanists such as W. Griffith, Voigt, T. Anderson, George King, David Prain (wrote the book ‘Bengal Plants’), Gage, D. Chatterjee and many others.

The Herbarium of the Garden contains good number of collection which includes more than 1,000 Type material of Indian species of flower­ing plants.

The interesting and attractive feature of the Garden is the Great Banyan Tree (Ficus beng- halensis), It forms the world’s largest (spreading) tree crown which has enormous trunks up to 100 feet (30 m) or more in circumference of more than 200 years old, that covers more than four acres and stands with more than 1,000 pillar-like legs formed by aerial roots i.e., prop roots (Fig. 4.7) .

Another plant, the Amazon lily (Victoria amazonica of Nymphaeaceae) with large dish-­like floating leaves having raised margin (Fig. 4.8) attracts the general public. In addition to the above, so many important places like large palm house, small palm house, Charac uddyan (hous­ing economically important plants), orchid house, fern house, etc., and various shrubs and trees are present — they attract the students and also the general public.