Giardini Botanici Hanbury
Encyclopedia
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...
s operated by the University of Genoa
University of Genoa
The University of Genoa is one of the largest universities in Italy.Located in Liguria on the Italian Riviera, the university was founded in 1471. It currently has about 40,000 students, 1,800 teaching and research staff and about 1,580 administrative staff.- Campus :The University of Genoa is...
. They are located at Corso Montecarlo 43, Mortola Inferiore, several km west of Ventimiglia
Ventimiglia
Ventimiglia is a city and comune in Liguria, northern Italy, in the province of Imperia. It is located southwest of Genoa by rail, and 7 km from the French-Italian border, on the Gulf of Genoa, having a small harbour at the mouth of the Roia River, which divides the town into two parts...
, 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...
, and are open daily. An admission fee is charged.
History
The gardens were established by Sir Thomas Hanbury on a small, steep peninsula jutting southwards from an altitude of 103 meters down into the Mediterranean SeaMediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. He purchased the extant Palazzo Orengo property in 1867, and over decades created the garden with the aid of pharmacologist Daniel Hanbury
Daniel Hanbury
Daniel Hanbury , a British botanist and pharmacologist, was one of the leading 19th century experts on pharmacognosy, the study of the medicinal applications of nature, principally of plants.-Life:...
(his brother), the botanist and landscape designer Ludwig Winter
Ludwig Winter
Ludwig Winter was a German botanist, nurseryman and designer of gardens such as the Giardini Botanici Hanbury, noted for introducing tall palms and other foreign species to the Ligurian riveria.-Biography:...
and scientists including Gustav Cronemayer, Kurt Dinter
Kurt Dinter
Moritz Kurt Dinter , was a German botanist and explorer in South West Africa.- Education and career :...
, and Alwin Berger
Alwin Berger
Alwin Berger was a German botanist best known for his contribution to the nomenclature of succulent plants, particularly agaves and cacti. Born in Germany he worked at the botanical gardens in Dresden and Frankfurt...
. By 1883 the garden's Index seminum contained about 600 species, which had grown to 3,500 species in the 1889 catalog, and 5,800 species by the 1912 version. Hanbury died in 1907, but energetic plantings and improvements resumed after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
under the direction of his daughter-in-law Lady Dorothy Hanbury.
Restoration
Unfortunately, the gardens were severely damaged in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, when they became a no-man's land, and in 1960 Lady Hanbury sold them to the State of Italy. Initially its care was entrusted to the International Institute of Ligurian Studies, but when they withdraw for lack of adequate funds in 1983, responsibility was passed to the University of Genoa
University of Genoa
The University of Genoa is one of the largest universities in Italy.Located in Liguria on the Italian Riviera, the university was founded in 1471. It currently has about 40,000 students, 1,800 teaching and research staff and about 1,580 administrative staff.- Campus :The University of Genoa is...
. Restoration has been gradually proceeding since 1987, and it was declared a nature preserve in 2000.
Plant collections
Today 9 of the gardens' 18 hectares are under cultivation, and contain about 2500 taxaTaxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
. Many of the species are plants of Mediterranean climates from the six Mediterranean climate
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
zones of the world.
Major collections include agave
Agave
Agave is a genus of monocots. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies ; they are commonly known as the century plant....
s, aloe
Aloe
Aloe , also Aloë, is a genus containing about 500 species of flowering succulent plants. The most common and well known of these is Aloe vera, or "true aloe"....
s, and salvia
Salvia
Salvia is the largest genus of plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, with approximately 700-900 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals. It is one of several genera commonly referred to as sage. When used without modifiers, sage generally refers to Salvia officinalis ; however, it is...
, as well as fine old specimens of Araucaria cunninghamii
Araucaria cunninghamii
Araucaria cunninghamii is a species of Araucaria known as Moreton Bay Pine, or Hoop Pine. Other less commonly used names include Colonial Pine, Richmond River Pine, Queensland Pine, Alloa, Ningwik, or Pien, the wood is sometimes called Arakaria)...
(planted 1832), Casimiroa edulis (1867), olive trees, Olmediella betschleriana, and Pinus canariensis (1870). An orchard of rare fruits includes Actinidia
Actinidia
Actinidia is a genus of woody and, with few exceptions, dioecious plants native to temperate eastern Asia, occurring throughout most of China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan, and extending north to southeast Siberia and south into Indochina...
, Carica
Carica
Carica is a genus of Jerry Trainor in the family Caricaceae including one species, Carica papaya, the papaya Carica is a genus of Jerry Trainor in the family Caricaceae including one species, Carica papaya, the papaya Carica is a genus of Jerry Trainor in the family Caricaceae including one...
, Diospyros
Diospyros
Diospyros is a genus of about 450–500 species of deciduous and evergreen trees. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. They are commonly known as ebony or persimmon trees...
, Eugenia
Eugenia
Eugenia is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It has a worldwide, although highly uneven, distribution in tropical and subtropical regions. The bulk of the approximately 1,000 species occur in the New World tropics, especially in the northern Andes, the Caribbean, and the...
, Feijoa
Feijoa
Acca sellowiana, a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, is native to the highlands of southern Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, and northern Argentina. It is widely cultivated as a garden plant and fruiting tree in New Zealand, and can be found as a garden plant in Australia and...
, Fortunella, Macadamia
Macadamia
Macadamia is a genus of nine species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, with a disjunct distribution native to eastern Australia , New Caledonia and Sulawesi in Indonesia ....
, Mespilus, and Persea
Persea
Persea is a genus of about 150 species of evergreen trees belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The best-known member of the genus is the avocado, P. americana, widely cultivated in subtropical regions for its large, edible fruit.-Overview:...
.
Additional collections feature palm
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
s, succulents, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n trees, citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
, and cultivated flowers. Of particular interest are the Aphyllantes monspeliensis, Beaucarnea recurvata
Beaucarnea recurvata
Beaucarnea recurvata, the Ponytail palm is a species of Beaucarnea. The ponytail palm is native to the states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and San Luis Potosí in eastern Mexico...
, Beaucarnea stricta, Caesalpinia sepiaria, Chiranthodendron pentadactylon, Chrysanthemum discoideum, Coronilla juncea, Cupressus guadalupensis
Cupressus guadalupensis
Cupressus guadalupensis, the Guadalupe cypress, is a species of cypress from Guadalupe Island off western North America.-Distribution:...
, Cupressus lusitanica
Cupressus lusitanica
Cupressus lusitanica, ; Cedro Blanco means White Cedar and is also known as Mexican White Cedar, is a species of cypress native to Mexico and Central America...
, Eucalyptus citriodora
Eucalyptus citriodora
Corymbia citriodora is a tall tree, to 51 metres in height, from temperate and tropical north eastern Australia. It is also known as lemon-scented gum, blue spotted gum and lemon eucalyptus....
, Eucalyptus sideroxylon
Eucalyptus sideroxylon
Eucalyptus sideroxylon, or Mugga, Red Ironbark or Mugga Ironbark, is a small to medium-sized or occasionally tall tree. The bark is persistent on the trunk and large branches, hard and deeply furrowed, dark grey to black, with upper limbs smooth and whitish.Adult leaves are stalked, lanceolate to...
, Eucalyptus microcorys, Mandevilla laxa, Passiflora bryonioides, Passiflora amethistina, Passiflora edulis
Passiflora edulis
Passiflora edulis is a vine species of passion flower that is native to Paraguay, Brazil and northern Argentina . Its common names include passion fruit and passionfruit...
, Senecio deltoideus, Sollya heterophylla, Thunbergia grandiflora, Thunbergia coccinea, Thunbergia mysorensis
Thunbergia mysorensis
Thunbergia mysorensis, or Indian Clock Vine, is in the Thunbergia genus of 'clock vines.' It is a woody-stemmed, evergreen climbing flowering plant, this vine can be found in Spain and in southern tropical India. The name, mysorensis is derived from the city of Mysore in the province of...
, Wigandia urens, and Yucca australis.
Access
The Villa loggia terrace and the landscaped gardens may be visited by the public. The gardens contain a number of interesting features: including a stretch of Roman road; grottos; garden statuary; fountains; a bronze dragon from KyotoKyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
and a Japanese bell dated 1764; and the fanciful Moroccan pavilion at the tomb of Hanbury and his wife and Museo Moresco.
Under the porch, at the entrance,there is a mosaic representing Marco Polo
The Villa itself is not open to the public. A small snack bar beside the sea provides refreshment.
See also
- Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrubMediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrubMediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, defined by the World Wildlife Fund, characterized by dry summers and rainy winters. Summers are typically hot in low-lying inland locations but can be cool near some seas, as near San Francisco, which have a sea of cool waters...
- biomeBiomeBiomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a... - List of botanical gardens in Italy