The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Catania (16,000 m²), also known as the Hortus Botanicus Catinensis, 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 ...

in Catania,

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It is operated by the

University of Catania The University of Catania ( it, Università degli Studi di Catania) is a university located in Catania, Sicily. Founded in 1434, it is the oldest university in Sicily, the 13th oldest in Italy, and the 29th oldest university in the world. With a ...

botany Botany, also called plant science (or plant sciences), plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "bot ...

department. This institution is a member of

BGCI Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) is a plant conservation charity based in Kew, Surrey, England. It is a membership organisation, working with 800 botanic gardens in 118 countries, whose combined work forms the world's largest plan ...

, with international identification code CAT.

History

Realization of a garden was first attempted in 1847 with a purchase of land on the city outskirts, but the revolutions of 1848 rapidly led to its dispersion. In 1858 the garden was established by founder and director,

Benedictine Monk The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Ordo Sancti Benedicti, abbreviated as OSB), are a Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedic ...

and botanist Francis Roccaforte Tornabene (1813–1897), with first plantings in 1862 of specimens obtained from other botanical gardens in Sweden,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, and

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for it ...

. It was enlarged in 1865 with a new area dedicated to cultivation of indigenous Sicilian species, and in the early 1900s further enhanced by creation of the Giardino Botanico "Nuova Gussonea" on

Mount Etna Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( it, Etna or ; scn, Muncibbeḍḍu or ; la, Aetna; grc, Αἴτνα and ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina a ...

for cultivation of native mountain plants. The main garden was damaged during

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and its great Tepidario greenhouse demolished in 1958, but in subsequent years it has been renewed.

Overview

Today the garden is divided into two main sections: the Hortus Generalis (13,000 m²) which collects mainly exotic plants, and the Hortus Siculus (3000 m²) which cultivates Sicilian species. The Hortus Generalis is divided into squares, set off by limestone steps, with two small

greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These ...

s for succulents, a tropical greenhouse used primarily for reproduction of palms by seed and for cultivation of exotic plants, and three circular tanks for

aquatic plant Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments ( saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...

s. The Hortus Siculus is divided into narrow rectangular flower beds bordered with

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock ( magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...

stone, containing plants arranged by family. The garden also contains a handsome departmental building in neoclassical style. Orto botanico di Catania 102459

The garden's main collections are as follows: * Succulent plants - thousands of specimens, most grown outdoors. The collection was first created by Tornabene, and in 1963 enlarged by 4,000 new specimens. Today it contains about 2,000 species, mainly ''

Cactaceae A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...

'', ''

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as '' Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, ...

'', and ''

Aizoaceae The Aizoaceae, or fig-marigold family, is a large family of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing 135 genera and about 1800 species. They are commonly known as ice plants or carpet weeds. They are often called vygies in South Africa and New ...

''. Of particular interest are its ''

Astrophytum capricorne ''Astrophytum capricorne'', the goat's horn cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the cactus family Cactaceae, that is native to the Coahuila regions of Northern Mexico. Growing to tall by wide in a ball or oval shape, it is grey-green in c ...

'', ''

Blossfeldia liliputana ''Blossfeldia'' is a genus of cactus (family Cactaceae) containing only one species, ''Blossfeldia liliputiana'', native to South America in northwestern Argentina (Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán, Catamarca and Mendoza Provinces) and southern Bolivia ...

'', ''

Cereus Cereus, waxy in Latin, may refer to: * ''Cereus'' (anemone), a genus of sea anemones in the family Sagartiidae * ''Cereus'' (plant), a genus of cacti (the family Cactaceae) * Ceroid cactus, any of a number of cacti with very elongated bodies, ...

'', '' Echinocactus grusonii'', '' Leuchtenbergia principis'', '' Lophophora williamsii'', ''

Mammillaria herrerae ''Mammillaria herrerae'' is a species of plant in the family Cactaceae. It is Endemism, endemic to Mexico where it is confined to Querétaro. Its habitat is semi-desert shrubland. It is threatened by habitat loss and illegal collection. In a 20-y ...

'', ''

Mammillaria schiedeana ''Mammillaria'' is one of the largest genera in the cactus family ( Cactaceae), with currently 200 known species and varieties recognized. Most of the mammillaria are native to Mexico, but some come from the southwest United States, the Carib ...

'', ''

Mammillaria theresae ''Mammillaria'' is one of the largest genera in the cactus family ( Cactaceae), with currently 200 known species and varieties recognized. Most of the mammillaria are native to Mexico, but some come from the southwest United States, the Carib ...

'', '' Melocatus jansenianus'', '' Roseocactus fissuratus'', and '' Toumeya papyracantha'', as well as '' Euphorbia abyssinica'', '' Euphorbia candelabrum'', ''

Euphorbia trigona Euphorbia trigona, the African milk tree,Timothy K. Broschat, Alan W. Meerow. ''Betrock's Reference Guide to Florida Landscape Plants''. Betrock Information Systems, 1991. p. 123. cathedral cactus, or Abyssinian euphorbia, is a species of flower ...

'', '' Euphorbia coerulescens'', '' Euphorbia resinifera'', and ''

Caralluma europaea ''Caralluma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, consisting of about 120 species. In 1795 William Roxburgh published the name '' Stapelia adscendens'' for a plant found in India. He commented that the name for the plant ...

'', ''

Crassula brevifolia ''Crassula brevifolia'' is a succulent plant native to the arid western edge of South Africa (including the Namaqualand, as far south as Vanrhynsdorp) as well as southern Namibia. Description A small (reaching 50cm in height), branching, perenn ...

'', ''

Crassula falcata ''Crassula falcata'' (now correctly named ''Crassula perfoliata var. minor''), known by the common names airplane plant and propeller plant, is a succulent plant endemic to South Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope. The foliage is gray-green wit ...

'', and '' Stapelia''. * Palms - about fifty species, representing '' Arecastrum'', '' Arykuryroba'', ''

Butia ''Butia'' is a genus of palms in the family Arecaceae, native to the South American countries of Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. Many species produce edible fruits, which are sometimes used to make alcoholic beverages and other foods. ...

'', ''

Chamaedorea ''Chamaedorea'' is a genus of 107 species of palms, native to subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas.Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, palms checklist''Chamaedorea''/ref>Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan ...

'', '' Chamaerops'', '' Erithea'', ''

Howea ''Howea'' is a genus of two palms, '' H. belmoreana'' and '' H. forsteriana'', both endemic to Lord Howe Island, Australia. ''H. forsteriana'' in particular is commonly grown as an indoor plant in the Northern Hemisphere, and the two species f ...

'', '' Livistona'', '' Phoenix'', ''

Sabal ''Sabal'' is a genus of palms (or fan-palms) endemic to the New World. Currently, there are 17 recognized species of ''Sabal'', including one hybrid species. The species are native to the subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, from th ...

'', ''

Trithrinax ''Trithrinax'' is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Coryphoideae of the family Arecaceae. The name is derived from ancient Greek, where ''tri'' means three, and ''thrinax'' trident. It was named in 1837 by Carl Friedrich Philipp von ...

'', '' Trachycarpus'', '' Washingtonia'', etc., with notable specimens of '' Arecastrum romanzoffianum'', ''

Butia eriospatha ''Butia eriospatha'' is a small species of '' Butia'' palm endemic to the highlands of southern Brazil. It is very similar to ''B. odorata'', but is easily distinguished from this species by the distinct spathes which are densely covered in rust ...

'', '' Brahea dulcis'', '' Dypsis onilahensis'', '' Jubaea chilensis'', '' Medemia argun'', ''

Rhopalostylis sapida ''Rhopalostylis sapida'', commonly known as nīkau ( mi, nīkau), is a palm tree endemic to New Zealand, and the only palm native to mainland New Zealand. Etymology is a Māori word; in the closely related Eastern Polynesian languages of the ...

'', ''

Pritchardia hillebrandii The genus ''Pritchardia'' (family Arecaceae) consists of between 24 and 40 species of fan palms (subfamily Coryphoideae) found on tropical Pacific Ocean islands in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tuamotus, and most diversely in Hawaii. The generic name ...

'', '' Sabal acauli'', ''

Trithrinax campestris ''Trithrinax campestris'', the caranday palm, is a South American palm tree native of Uruguayan and northeastern Argentine sabanas, where it shares its habitat with ''Copernicia alba'' among others and extends also to the summits of mountain rang ...

'', ''

Trithrinax brasiliensis ''Trithrinax brasiliensis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It is known as carandá, burití or leque. It is considered a rare and endemic species in southern Brazil. It occurs in Argentina, southern Brazil, and easte ...

'', '' Wallichia densiflora'', and ''

Washingtonia robusta ''Washingtonia robusta'', known by common name as the Mexican fan palm, Mexican washingtonia, or skyduster is a palm tree native to the Baja California peninsula and a small part of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. Despite its limited native dis ...

''. * Sicilian plants - including '' Abies nebrodensis'', ''

Anthemis ismelia ''Anthemis'' is a genus of aromatic flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, closely related to ''Chamaemelum'', and like that genus, known by the common name chamomile; some species are also called dog-fennel or mayweed. ''Anthemis'' are nativ ...

'', ''

Brassica ''Brassica'' () is a genus of plants in the cabbage and mustard family (Brassicaceae). The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables, cabbages, or mustard plants. Crops from this genus are sometimes called ''cole ...

'', '' Celtis aetnensis'', '' Centaurea tauromenitana'', '' Cremnophyton lanfrancoi'', '' Darniella melitensis'', ''

Cheirolophus crassifolius ''Cheirolophus crassifolius'', the Maltese centaury, Maltese rock-centaury or Widnet il-Baħar, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is endemic to Malta, where it has been the national plant of Malta since 1973. Its natur ...

'', ''

Salix gussonei Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist ...

'', '' Scilla cupani'', ''

Scilla dimartinoi ''Scilla'' () is a genus of about 30 to 80 species of bulb-forming perennial herbaceous plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. Sometimes called the squills in English, they are native to woodlands, subalpine meadows, and seas ...

'', '' Scilla sicula'', '' Senecio ambiguus'', and ''

Zelkova sicula ''Zelkova sicula'' is a species of '' Zelkova'' in the family Ulmaceae, endemic to Sicily. Description It is a deciduous shrub growing to tall; its natural mature size is unknown, as all existing specimens have been heavily browsed by goats, l ...

''. * Trees and shrubs - including ''

Bupleurum fruticosum ''Bupleurum fruticosum'' or shrubby hare's-ear is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It is endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, c ...

'', ''

Ceratonia siliqua The carob ( ; ''Ceratonia siliqua'') is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens and landsca ...

'', '' Chamaerops humilis'', '' Cistus creticus'', ''

Dracaena draco ''Dracaena draco'', the Canary Islands dragon tree or drago, is a subtropical tree in the genus '' Dracaena'', native to the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira, western Morocco, and is thought to be introduced in the Azores. Its closest livi ...

'', ''

Erica multiflora ''Erica multiflora'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae. It is native to the Mediterranean Basin In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the regi ...

'', '' Fontanesia phillyreoides'', ''

Myrtus communis ''Myrtus communis'', the common myrtle or true myrtle, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It is an evergreen shrub native to southern Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, Macaronesia, and the Indian Subcontinent, and ...

'', ''

Quercus ilex ''Quercus ilex'', the evergreen oak, holly oak or holm oak is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the ''Ilex'' section of the genus, with acorns that mature in a single summer. Description An evergreen t ...

'', ''

Phillyrea angustifolia ''Phillyrea angustifolia'', the narrow-leaved mock privet,RHS Plants. Available at: https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/24488/i-Phillyrea-angustifolia-i/Details ccessed 22/02/21/ref> is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae, nativ ...

'', '' Pinus pinea'', ''

Pistacia lentiscus ''Pistacia lentiscus'' (also lentisk or mastic) is a dioecious evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus '' Pistacia'' native to the Mediterranean Basin. It grows up to tall and is cultivated for its aromatic resin, mainly on the Greek isl ...

'', ''

Populus alba ''Populus alba'', commonly called silver poplar,Webb, C. J.; Sykes, W. R.; Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. IV. Naturalised Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Dicotyledons. 4. Christchurch, New Zealand, Botany Division, D.S.I.R. si ...

'', ''

Ulmus canescens ''Ulmus minor'' subsp. ''canescens'' is a small deciduous tree occasionally known by the common names grey elm, grey-leafed elm, and hoary elm. Its natural range extends through the lands of the central and eastern Mediterranean, from southern It ...

'', and ''

Vitex agnus-castus ''Vitex agnus-castus'', also called vitex, chaste tree (or chastetree), chasteberry, Abraham's balm, lilac chastetree, or monk's pepper, is a native of the Mediterranean region. It is one of the few temperate-zone species of '' Vitex'', which is ...

''. * Exotic species - including ''

Agathis australis ''Agathis australis'', commonly known by its Māori name kauri (), is a coniferous tree in the family ''Araucariaceae'', found north of 38°S in the northern regions of New Zealand's North Island. It is the largest (by volume) but not ...

'', ''

Agave americana ''Agave americana'', common names century plant, maguey, or American aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to Mexico and the United States in Texas. It is cultivated worldwide as an ornamental plant, and has ...

'', '' Ceratozamia mexicana'', ''

Eriobotrya japonica The loquat (''Eriobotrya japonica'') is a large evergreen shrub or tree, grown commercially for its orange fruit and for its leaves, which are used to make herbal tea. It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant. The loquat is in the fam ...

'', '' Macrozamia moorei'', ''

Morus alba ''Morus alba'', known as white mulberry, common mulberry and silkworm mulberry, is a fast-growing, small to medium-sized mulberry tree which grows to tall. It is generally a short-lived tree with a lifespan comparable to that of humans, although ...

'', and ''

Prunus armeniaca ''Prunus armeniaca'' is the most commonly cultivated apricot species. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation. Genetic studies indicate Central Asia is the center of origin. It is extensively cultivate ...

''.

References

*

*

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20081017070742/http://www.grandigiardini.it/scheda.php?id=90 Tab on the site of Grandi Giardini Italiani * F. Tornabene, ''Hortus botanicus regiae Universitatis studiorum Catinae'', F. Galati, Catania, 1887. * V. Gicomini, "Un secolo di vita scientifica dell'Orto Botanico dell'Università di Catania (1858-1958)", ''Boll. Ist. Univ. Catania'', ser. II, vol. 2: I-LII, Catania, 1958. * A. Gugliemo and P. Pavone, "La collezione di piante succulente dell’Orto Botanico dell'Università di Catania", ''Il Naturalista Siciliano'', ser. IV, 5 (1-2): 1-20, Palermo, 1981. * A. Gugliemo and P. Pavone, ''L'Orto Botanico di Catania'', 1st edition Arti Grafiche Signorello, Catania, 1988; 2nd edition (1994), 3rd edition (1995) Litotipografia Vena, Palermo. {{DEFAULTSORT:Orto Botanico Dell'universita Di Catania University of Catania Buildings and structures in Catania Botanical gardens in Italy Gardens in Sicily Buildings and structures completed in 1858 1858 establishments in Italy

History

Overview

See also

References