Ornamental Horticulture

The Indian Botanic Garden, Kolkata (West Bengal)

The Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanical Garden (previously known as Indian Botanical Gardens, Howrah) is situated in the twin city of Howrah, on the opposite side of the river Hoogly. The gardens exhibit a wide variety of rare plants and a total collection of over 12,000 specimens spread over 109 hectares. It is under Botanical Survey of India (BSI) of Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. The garden was established in 1787. It ranks among the great botanical gardens of the world. The garden was established on the suggestion of Robert Kyd, an army man. The garden had a unique privilege of having famous scientists as its superintendents such as Dr. William Roxburg, Sir J. Hooker, Dr. N. Wallich, Dr. Hugh Falconer, Sir George King, Sir William Wright Smith, Sir David Prain and R. C.C. Calder. The first Indian to occupy this post was Dr. K. Biswas.

The feature which attract most visitors are the giant 200 year old banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis) and the large collection of palms with a pond in the foreground. The garden has 26 lakes. Another important feature is the giant lily, Victoria regia which has giant disc-like leaves raised at the margins. It is reported that the leaves floating on the surface of water can withstand the weight of a baby. The garden has 15,000 trees and shrubs in the open, representing 2,500 species. The palm houses, orchid houses, and ferneries house several thousand herbaceous plants. The Royal Palm Avenue near the river gate is another beautiful feature of the garden. The garden houses the best herbarium in the country and the library has more than 25,000 volumes.