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There is nowhere better to experience autumn
in several regions of the Earth at one and the same time or to enjoy
autumnal colours and scents. By following our suggested route, you will
discover those plants and parts of the Botanic Garden that are now at
their most beautiful. Of course you will also find many plants that are
well worth seeing in other parts of the Garden too. We wish you a
pleasant trip through the plant world.
Plants bloom, fruit, smell and change colour earlier or later in the
year depending on the weather conditions. |
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This is when nature shows why the German word for autumn, Herbst,
originally meant ‘season of fruits’ and is related to the English word ‘harvest’,
the Latin carpere (to pick), the Greek karpos (fruit) and the
Indo-European sker (to cut). In the dune landscape the orange-coloured,
Vitamin C-rich fruits of the Common Sea-Buckthorn and the red fruits of
the European Holly gleam brightly. By eating these fruits, birds
disperse the seeds included in them. |
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 In
the autumnal mountains, the Alpine Daphne and the Sweet Chestnut, its
fruit enclosed in prickly packages, are a delight for the eye. Along the
way to the medicinal plants garden you will be dazzled by the leaves of
the Persian Ironwood Tree with their many shades of red and yellow. |
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 In
the medicinal plants garden the Castor Oil Plant even now still bears
flowers alongside its impressive fruit clusters. Its seeds yield castor
oil and are used as a source for renewable energy. Can you see the
infructescence of the artichoke plant? At the bud stage, its flower
heads are a culinary treat! |
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 In
the systematic section sunflowers glow, and the Japanese Knotweed is
also still in full bloom – an invasive plant, it was introduced into
Germany by humans and in some places is edging out the native flora.
Another particularly impressive sight is the stately Giant Cane, whose
stems are used to make the reeds in woodwind instruments. |
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 In
the arboretum discover the Osage-orange with its spherical, wrinkly
patterned multiple fruits. Just like the related fig it contains a milky
sap. Its wood was used by North American Osage Indians to produce
tomahawks and bows. |
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 On
humid days the decomposing leaf litter of the Katsura Tree exudes its
characteristic bakehouse smell, which is why it is commonly known in
Germany as the ‘Cake Tree’. At the Gertrud Schaub pergola the fruits of
the hardy Trifoliate Orange are resplendent, as are the long lilac
fruits of the Blue Cucumber Shrub, also called Dead Man’s Fingers. A
little further along the path the large fruits of the delicious quince
and the smaller fruits of the Japanese Quince are conspicuous by their
bright colours. |
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 After
passing the Purple Smoke Bush with its long-haired fruit stalks as well
as different varieties of acer you arrive at the fruiting rowan trees,
among them the Whitty Pear, which grow in close proximity to the rose
pavilion. With its sharp thorns, the Cockspur Hawthorn is most
impressive. |
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 What
would the autumn be without wine? Take a detour to the vine pergola and
admire the different grapevine species. Further on you will come across
the Common Medlar, whose highly prized fruits are softened by the first
frosts. |
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 Gazing
out across the American lake, you feel yourself transported into an
‘Indian summer’. The information board on the bridge will tell you why
in autumn the leaves of deciduous trees turn from green to yellow,
orange, red and brown. Particularly striking is the foliage of the
American Sweetgum and the Tulip Tree. The prairie is aglow with the
orange leaves of the Staghorn Sumac trees, the yellow flowers of the
goldenrods and the brightly coloured flowers of various species of aster. |
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 In
Japan, the leaves of the Ginkgo Tree are a splendid blaze of yellow,
visible from afar. The fleshy seeds of the female trees exude the
pungent smell of rancid butter – in complete contrast to the aromatic
foliage of the nearby Katsura Tree. The lilac fruits of the Beautyberry
make it easy to understand how it got its English vernacular name. |
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 Especially
on cool autumn days the greenhouses offer a perfect end to your journey
through the world of plants. With the onset of the autumn rains, the
plant world around the Mediterranean awakens to new life after the
summer drought. In the Mediterranean Greenhouse the Ivy-leaved Cyclamen
and the Strawberry Tree are among the plants in bloom. |
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 In
other greenhouses bromeliads, African violets and begonias as well as
many palms easily allow you to forget which season it is. Survival
specialists like mosses, liverworks and Welwitschia can be wondered at
in the annexes of the Main Tropical Greenhouse. |
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