The is a

botanical 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 ...

operated by the Graduate School of Science,

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

, and located at 1842 Hanaishi, Nikkō, Tochigi, Japan, on rolling terrain with streams and ponds at 647 meters above sea level. It is open daily except Mondays during the warmer months; an admission fee is charged. The garden was established in 1902 as a branch of the

Koishikawa Botanical Garden The is a botanical garden with an arboretum operated by the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Science. They are located at 3-7-1 Hakusan, Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan, and open daily except Mondays; an admission fee is charged. History The T ...

, Tokyo, to specialize in the study of

alpine plant Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial grasses, ...

s. It was first located near Toshogu Shrine, but in 1911 moved to its current site, and in 1950 enlarged to include part of the Tamozawa Goyotei garden, a summer house of Japan's royal family. Today the garden contains about 2,200

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

(130 species of

pteridophyte A pteridophyte is a vascular plant (with xylem and phloem) that disperses spores. Because pteridophytes produce neither flowers nor seeds, they are sometimes referred to as "cryptogams", meaning that their means of reproduction is hidden. Ferns, ...

s, 70 species of

gymnosperm The gymnosperms ( lit. revealed seeds) are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, ''Ginkgo'', and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term ''gymnosperm'' comes from the composite word in el, γυμνό� ...

s, and 2,000 species of

angiosperm Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s), with good collections of temperate trees and shrubs, including 22 of the 24 indigenous Japanese Acer species, more than 10 species of Japanese

Prunus ''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of South America, and the p ...

, and 80

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

species. Many herbaceous species are grown beneath the trees, as well as more specialized collections in rockeries, bog gardens, and a

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

garden (about 60 species). The rockeries contain about 100 species of Japanese alpine plants, together with plants from the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. Image:Nikko Botanical Garden, Japan - 2.jpg Image:Nikko Botanical Garden, Japan - 3.jpg Image:Nikko Botanical Garden, Japan - 4.jpg Image:Newton's apple tree in the Botanical Gardens, the University of Tokyo.jpg Image:Old water well of Koishikawa Yojosho.jpg

References and external links

Nikko Botanical Garden

{{Authority control Botanical gardens in Japan Nikkō, Tochigi Gardens in Tochigi Prefecture ko:도쿄 대학 대학원 이학계 연구과 부속 식물원 ja:日光植物園

See also

References and external links