Plant geography - 2
The Plant geography section in numbers
The concept of a garden arrangement after plant geographical principles goes back to Anton Kerner, botanist in Innsbruck, Tyrol (1831-1898). The plant geography section in our garden was developed in 1897-1904 by Adolf Engler (1844-1930). It comprises about 13 acres, on which ca. 6,400 plant species are cultivated.
In 12 rock beds plants are shown from:
- Scandinavia
- Iberian Peninsula
- Central European hills
- Alps
- Carpathians
- Balkan Peninsula
- Middle East
- Himalayas
- Central Asiatic mountains
- Japan
- Atlantic North America
- Pacific North America
Forest types are available from 8 different regions of the World:
- Forests of Central Europe (7 types: Hornbeam forest, Beach forest, Oak forest, Mixed forest, Pine-Birch forest, Riparian forest, Mountain forest)
- Pontian forest
- Hyrcanian forest
- Mountain forest of the Himalayas (West- and East-Himalayas)
- Siberian forest
- Japanese forest
- Forests of Atlantic North America (deciduous forest)
- Forests of Pacific North America (coniferous forest)
In addition poor and rich fen, heath, steppe, altogether 7 types:
- Tomillares (grazed limestone heath of the Iberian peninsula)
- Atlantic heath (grazed SW-European broom-heath)
- NW German heath (Calluna- and Empetrum-heath)
- SE-European steppe (Pannonicum)
- Central Asiatic steppe (Turkestan)
- Californian Artemisia-steppe
- North American longgrass- and shortgrass-prairie
Particularly extensive are the
- Meadows with about 405 plant species, of which 70 are on the German Red List;
The maintenance is in the hands of head-gardener M. Beyer and 14 gardeners.
It is organised in 3 departments:
- PG-01, theme: lowland- and montane vegetation of Germany, Scandinavia, Iberian peninsula, Alps, Apennines, Carpathians: 30,220 square m, kept by 5 gardeners.
- PG-02, theme: Balkan peninsula, Middle East, Central Asia till Siberia, Himalayas, China, Korea: 23,910 square m, kept by 6 gardeners.
- PG-03, theme: NE-Asia, Japan, Pacific and Atlantic North America: 27,930 square m, kept by 3 gardeners.
Altogether about 4000 taxa are shown here.
In connection with this area, but not freely accessible, is a nursery of 2,450 square m, with 600 square m glasshouses and 360 square m cold frames. Here about 2,400 plant species are cultivated by 4 gardeners.
[Text: Werner Schwarz, revised by M. Beyer]
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