Trees at the National Botanic Gardens

National Botanic Gardens Rainforest Tour

The Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) are located in Canberra and are administered by the Australian Government's Department of the Environment and Heritage. Canberra ( is the capital city of Australia With a population of over 340000 it is Australia's largest inland City. The Department of the Environment Water Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA formerly the Department of the Environment and Water Resources (DEWR is a department of the Australian

The botanic gardens are a collection of native Australian flora, the mission of the ANBG is to study and promote Australia's flora. Botanical gardens grow a wide variety of Plants primarily to categorize and document for scientific purposes The flora of Australia comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to over 20000 vascular and 14000 Non-vascular plants 250000 species of The gardens maintains a wide variety of botanical resources for researchers and cultivates native plants threatened in the wild.

History of the Gardens

When Canberra was being planned in the 1930s the establishment of the gardens was recommended in a report in 1933 by the Advisory Council of Federal Capital Territory. Canberra ( is the capital city of Australia With a population of over 340000 it is Australia's largest inland City. In 1935 The Dickson Report set forth a framework for their development. A large site for the gardens was set aside on Black Mountain. Black Mountain is situated close to the central business district of Australia 's capital city Canberra. In September 1949 the Ceremonial planting of first trees by Prime Minister Ben Chifley and Director of Kew Gardens, Sir Edward Salisbury took place. A tree is a perennial Woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or Joseph Benedict Chifley (22 September 1885 &ndash 13 June 1951 Australian politician and 16th Prime Minister of Australia, was one of Australia's most influential Prime Ministers The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, usually referred to simply as Kew Gardens, are extensive Gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Development of the site, facilities and collection progressed and the Gardens were officially opened in October 1970 by Prime Minister John Gorton. Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH (9 September 191119 May 2002 Australian politician was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.

The Gardens has tenure over 90 hectares on Black Mountain. Explanation The hectare is commonly used in most countries around the world especially in domains concerned with land planning and management such as Agriculture, About 40 hectares are currently developed as the Botanic Gardens. Plans for the development of the remaining land are on hold until funds are available.

The collection

The gardens is organised in thematic sections, plants are grouped by shared taxonomy or are presented in ecological groupings that exist in nature. Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification The word comes from the Greek, taxis (meaning 'order' 'arrangement' and, nomos More than 5500 species are cultivated. Displays include:

• Rainforest Gully, featuring plants for the rainforests of Eastern Australia. Rainforests are Forests characterized by high Rainfall with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm (68-78 inches
• Rock Garden, a display of plants which occur in habitats from the desert to alpine areas.
• Sydney Region Flora, a display of the divers flora endemic to the sandstone formations of the Sydney basin. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4
• Mallee Plants, the malees in the name give to multi-stemmed eucalypts and the shrubs and grasses associated with them.
• Banksias, waratahs and grevilleas (family Proteaceae)
• Callistemon, Leptospermum and Melaleuca (family Myrtaceae)
• The Eucalypt Lawn, features about one fifth of Australian eucalypt species. Banksia is a Genus of around 170 Species in the Plant family Proteaceae. Waratah ( Telopea) is a genus of five species of large Shrubs or small Trees in the Proteaceae, native to southeastern Australia Grevillea is a diverse Genus of about 360 species of Evergreen Flowering plants in the protea family Proteaceae, native to Proteaceae is a family of Flowering plants. Mainly restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, it is a fairly large family with around 80 genera Bottlebrush ( Callistemon) is a Genus with 34 species of Shrubs in the family Myrtaceae. Leptospermum is a genus of about 80-86 species of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. Melaleuca is a Genus of Plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. The Myrtaceae or Myrtle family are a family of Dicotyledon Plants placed within the order Myrtales. Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.
• Wattles (Genus Acacia)

Research at the Gardens

The Australian National Herbarium is held on site at the National Botanic Gardens. Acacia is a Genus of Shrubs and Trees belonging to the Subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first In Botany, a Herbarium is a collection of preserved Plant specimens The Herbarium houses the largest collection of pressed, dried plant specimens in Australia. The Herbarium is operated jointly with the CSIRO as part of a joint research facility, the Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation ( CSIRO) is the national government body for scientific research in Australia. It is not open to the public. The Australian National Herbarium is participating in the creation of Australia's Virtual Herbarium (AVH), a web based record of botanical information, including six million specimen records displaying geographic distribution, images, descriptive text and identification tools.

The Gardens manages several large plant databases, including What's its Name? is a simple point of access to the more complex 'Australian Plant Name Index' APNI listing all the scientific names ever used for Australia's plants. A Computer Database is a structured collection of records or data that is stored in a computer system A large collection of photographs is also available. A photograph (often shortened to photo) is an Image created by Light falling on a light-sensitive surface usually Photographic film or an electronic

The Gardens' library has significant collections of botanical books, journals, CD-ROMs and maps. The library is open to students and the public by appointment.

Rainforest walk at the National Botanic Gardens

External links

• Australian National Botanic Gardens
• What's its name? A searchable database for the Australian Plant Name Index