Limbe Botanic Garden or Limbe Botanical Gardens (LBG) is the principal

botanic garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe 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, an ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. It was created in 1892, during the German colonial era, in Victoria (former name of Limbe), between the ocean and

Mount Cameroon Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the South West region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous n ...

. Initially with an

agronomic Agricultural economics is an applied field of economics concerned with the application of economic theory in optimizing the production and distribution of food and fiber products. Agricultural economics began as a branch of economics that spe ...

intent, it has become one of the main recreational and tourist attractions of the South-West Region.

Location

Limbe Botanic Garden is situated on the Morton Bay coast in Limbe, at the mouth of the Limbe River which flows through the garden. It lies in the

Fako Division Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the South West region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous n ...

of the South West Province of

History

The garden was created in 1892 by a German team led by . Originally, it was a trial garden, a centre for experimentation and acclimatisation of useful tropical species, such as

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

oil palm ''Elaeis'' () is a genus of palms containing two species, called oil palms. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African oil palm ''Elaeis guineensis'' (the species name ''guineensis'' referring to its co ...

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...

, and

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

, destined for ' and other German colonies. In its heyday, it was considered one of the most important tropical botanical gardens in the world. In 1920 the British took over the garden in collaboration with the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

, which provided advice and training. After their departure in 1932 and until 1958, the garden was administered directly by Cameroonian staff, then, in the wake of independence, in 1961, it was taken over by the Government. In 1988 a partnership concluded with the United Kingdom allowed its renovation and development. Originally intended for agriculture, the botanical garden is now oriented towards conservation, education, science, tourism and leisure. Today the garden, which originally covered , has no more than . Some buildings, the laboratory and library - have for some time been transformed into a hospital. There is now a luxury hotel there. Bundesarchiv Bild 163-300, Kamerun, Victoria, Botanischer Garten.jpg Bundesarchiv Bild 163-303, Kamerun, Viktoria, Botanischer Garten.jpg Bundesarchiv Bild 163-308, Kamerun, Victoria, Plantenfarm.jpg

Associated personalities

Past directors of the Limbe Botanic Garden have included: * from 1892 to 1902: Paul Rudolph Preuss, * from 1906 to 1907: August Weberbauer, * from 1927 to 1932: Hubert Winkler worked there in 1904–1905, and in 1908.

Collections

The garden has around 1,500 taxa (1,000 herbaceous and 500 woody plants). There are rare or threatened plants: 150

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

, 100 from the southwest, including

Calamus Calamus may refer to: Botany and zoology * ''Calamus'' (fish), a genus of fish in the family Sparidae * ''Calamus'' (palm), a genus of rattan palms * Calamus, the hollow shaft of a feather, also known as the quill * '' Acorus calamus'', the swe ...

Prunus africana ''Prunus africana'', the African cherry, has a wide distribution in Africa, occurring in montane regions of central and southern Africa and on the islands of Bioko, São-Tomé, Grande Comore, and Madagascar. It can be found at above sea level. I ...

and

Gnetum ''Gnetum'' is a genus of gymnosperms, the sole genus in the family Gnetaceae within the Gnetophyta. They are tropical evergreen trees, shrubs and lianas. Unlike other gymnosperms, they possess vessel elements in the xylem. Some species have been ...

. Certain plants are the subject of particular attention, in particular the African palm trees, the endemics of Mount Cameroon and the

Musa Musa may refer to: Places * Mūša, a river in Lithuania and Latvia * Musa, Azerbaijan, a village in Yardymli Rayon * Musa, Iran, a village in Ilam Province * Musa, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran *Musa, Kerman, Iran * Musa, Bukan, West Azerbaija ...

. Others are cultivated for conservation purposes:

Irvingia gabonensis ''Irvingia gabonensis'' is a species of African trees in the genus ''Irvingia'', sometimes known by the common names wild mango, African mango, or bush mango. They bear edible mango-like fruits, and are especially valued for their fat- and prote ...

, Garcinia kola, , Cola spp.,

Pterocarpus soyauxii ''Pterocarpus soyauxii'', the African padauk or African coralwood, is a species of ''Pterocarpus'' in the family Fabaceae, native to central and tropical west Africa, from Nigeria east to Congo-Kinshasa and south to Angola.International Legume ...

Diospyros ''Diospyros'' is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. Individual species valued for their hard, heavy, dark tim ...

Rauvolfia vomitoria ''Rauvolfia vomitoria'', the poison devil's-pepper, is a plant species in the genus ''Rauvolfia''. It is native from Senegal east to Sudan and Tanzania, south to Angola; and naturalized in China, Bangladesh, different ranges of Himalayan and P ...

Nauclea diderrichii ''Nauclea diderrichii'' is a species of tree of the genus ''Nauclea'' in the family Rubiaceae. It is known by the common names bilinga, aloma, badi, and . Description ''Nauclea diderrichii'' is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republ ...

, Terminalia spp., Annickia chlorantha, , Bryophyllum spp. and Physostigma venenosum. The botanical garden also houses a

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...

which held around 21,000 specimens in 2001 and, more recently, 30,000. Its acronym in the Index Herbariorum is ''SCA''. Pimenta racemosa 5351.JPG, '' Pimenta racemosa'' Cameroon's Natural lipstick.jpg, ''

Bixa orellana ''Bixa orellana'', also known as achiote, is a shrub native to Central America. ''Bixa orellana'' is grown in many countries worldwide. The tree is best known as the source of annatto, a natural orange-red condiment (also called or ) obtained ...

'' Omphalocarpum procerum 5412.JPG, ' Tapeinochilos ananassae 5313.JPG, '' Tapeinochilos ananassae'' Ginger flower Botanic garden Limbe Cameroon 3.jpg, ''

Etlingera elatior ''Etlingera elatior'' (also known as torch ginger, ginger flower, red ginger lily, torch lily, wild ginger, ''combrang, bunga kantan'', Philippine wax flower, ගොඩ ඕලු (goda olu), ගොඩ නෙලුම් (goda nelum), සිද් ...

'' Hibiscus flower Botanic garden Limbe Cameroon.jpg, ''

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis ''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'', known colloquially as Chinese hibiscus, China rose, Hawaiian hibiscus, rose mallow and shoeblack plant, is a species of tropical hibiscus, a flowering plant in the Hibisceae Tribe (biology), tribe of the family (biol ...

'' Allamanda blanchetii flower Botanic garden Limbe 2.jpg, ''

Mandevilla sanderi ''Mandevilla sanderi'', the Brazilian jasmine, is a vine belonging to the genus '' Mandevilla''."Botanica. The Illustrated AZ of over 10000 garden plants and how to cultivate them", p. 563. Könemann, 2004. Grown as an ornamental plant, the spec ...

'' Lily Lilium botanic garden Limbe Cameroon.jpg, ''Lily Lilium''

Military cemetery

The Botanical Garden houses the graves of several soldiers from the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

, four from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and sixteen from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Jardin Botanique Limbé - Monuments Tombes de guerres 06.jpg Jardin Botanique Limbé - Monuments Tombes de guerres 03.jpg Jardin Botanique Limbé - Monuments Tombes de guerres - 04.jpg

Tourism

A centre of attraction called "Jungle Village" has been set up and serves as a framework for the organisation of cultural events for the enjoyment of tourists. Several landscaped tracks facilitate access within the garden. These are : * the coastal track, which affords a view of the western part of the garden; * the biodiversity trail which, as its name suggests, allows visitors to have a view of all the biodiversity of the garden; * the ''Bota trail'' to discover large trees and wild animals; * the track that runs along the river, where there are trees and plants over a hundred years old.

References

Bibliography

* * * 80 pages. * * (preface by

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

)

External links

{{commons category, Limbe Botanical Gardens, position=left Botanical gardens in Cameroon Tourist attractions in Limbe Buildings and structures in Limbe