Sarasota Jungle Gardens
Encyclopedia
Sarasota Jungle Gardens has been a tourist attraction
in Sarasota, Florida
in the United States
since 1936. It offers ten acre
s, or four hectares, of botanical plantings along with bird and animal shows. Special shows are held each December for the holiday season, including a classic Punch and Judy
show, performed by "Professor DeWitt" http://www.prodewitt.com/ that has become an annual tradition during the past sixteen years. Jungle Gardens is an old-fashioned, family-oriented tourist attraction that continues to appeal to the public. It is open to the public for a per-use ticket fee, as well as offering yearly membership passes for those wishing to visit frequently. Some children who visit regularly consider it their 'neighborhood park'. Special events for children are held during the summer. On a limited basis, the site is also available for special events that are compatible with the residential neighborhood that has grown up around it during its seven decades of existence.
The Gardens includes native species and exotic
plants from around the world, such as the Australian nut tree, a bunya-bunya tree, the largest Norfolk Island pine
in Florida, bulrush
, strangler fig
s, royal palms, selloums, banana
trees, Peruvian apple cactus
, and staghorn fern
s, as well as native red maple
s, oak
s and bald cypress.
In the 1920s, the site had become a swampy banana grove listed in city records as "an impenetrable swamp." In the early 1930s, David Breed Lindsay, a local newspaperman, purchased the grove to create a botanical gardens. Beginning in 1936, admission fees were charged and in 1940, Jungle Gardens opened for business in essentially its current form. In the late 1940s, Jungle Gardens was sold to the philanthropic Allyn family, who continue to manage it.
Tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....
in Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
since 1936. It offers ten acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s, or four hectares, of botanical plantings along with bird and animal shows. Special shows are held each December for the holiday season, including a classic Punch and Judy
Punch and Judy
Punch and Judy is a traditional, popular puppet show featuring the characters of Mr. Punch and his wife, Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically the anarchic Punch and one other character...
show, performed by "Professor DeWitt" http://www.prodewitt.com/ that has become an annual tradition during the past sixteen years. Jungle Gardens is an old-fashioned, family-oriented tourist attraction that continues to appeal to the public. It is open to the public for a per-use ticket fee, as well as offering yearly membership passes for those wishing to visit frequently. Some children who visit regularly consider it their 'neighborhood park'. Special events for children are held during the summer. On a limited basis, the site is also available for special events that are compatible with the residential neighborhood that has grown up around it during its seven decades of existence.
The Gardens includes native species and exotic
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
plants from around the world, such as the Australian nut tree, a bunya-bunya tree, the largest Norfolk Island pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
in Florida, bulrush
Bulrush
-Wetland plants:* Bolboschoenus, a genus in the sedge family * Cyperus, a genus in the sedge family * Scirpus, a genus in the sedge family * Schoenoplectus, a genus in the sedge family...
, strangler fig
Ficus
Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
s, royal palms, selloums, banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
trees, Peruvian apple cactus
Cactus
A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
, and staghorn fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s, as well as native red maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
s, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
s and bald cypress.
In the 1920s, the site had become a swampy banana grove listed in city records as "an impenetrable swamp." In the early 1930s, David Breed Lindsay, a local newspaperman, purchased the grove to create a botanical gardens. Beginning in 1936, admission fees were charged and in 1940, Jungle Gardens opened for business in essentially its current form. In the late 1940s, Jungle Gardens was sold to the philanthropic Allyn family, who continue to manage it.