The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Genova (1 hectare), also known as the Orto Botanico di Genova, 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

University of Genoa The University of Genoa, known also with the acronym UniGe ( it, Università di Genova), is one of the largest universities in Italy. It is located in the city of Genoa and regional Metropolitan City of Genoa, on the Italian Riviera in the Liguri ...

, and located at Corso Dogali,

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

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 re ...

. The garden was established in 1803 by Professor

Domenico Viviani Domenico Viviani (29 July 1772, Levanto, Liguria – 15 February 1840, Genoa) was an Italian botanist and naturalist. In 1803, he was named professor of botany at the University of Genoa, where he is credited with the founding of its botanical g ...

on the former estate of the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

College of St. Jerome in Balbi. By 1819 its catalog listed 1011

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

, of which 60% were medicinal plants of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an origin. It was extended in 1835 by an additional 4,000 square metres spread over two large terraces. The first large greenhouse was built in 1859, and in 1865 additional land was purchased to bring the garden to its current size of about 10,000 m². Today the garden contains about 4000 specimens, representing about 2000

. Some date back a century or more, including fine specimens of ''

Cedrus libani ''Cedrus libani'', the cedar of Lebanon or Lebanese cedar (), is a species of tree in the genus cedrus, a part of the pine family, native to the mountains of the Eastern Mediterranean basin. It is a large evergreen conifer that has great religi ...

'', ''

Cupressus sempervirens ''Cupressus sempervirens'', the Mediterranean cypress (also known as Italian cypress, Tuscan cypress, Persian cypress, or pencil pine), is a species of cypress native to the eastern Mediterranean region, in northeast Libya, southern Albania, sou ...

'', ''

Firmiana simplex ''Firmiana simplex'', commonly known as the Chinese parasol tree, Chinese parasoltree, or wutong (), is an ornamental plant of tree size assigned to the family Malvaceae that was formerly in the family Sterculiaceae in the order Malvales, and i ...

'', ''

Gleditsia triacanthos The honey locust (''Gleditsia triacanthos''), also known as the thorny locust or thorny honeylocust, is a deciduous tree in the family Fabaceae, native to central North America where it is mostly found in the moist soil of river valleys. Honey ...

'', and ''

Sequoia sempervirens ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal ...

'', as well as ''

Angiopteris evecta ''Angiopteris evecta'', commonly known as the king fern, giant fern, elephant fern, oriental vessel fern, Madagascar tree fern, or mule's Foot fern, is a very large rainforest fern in the family Marattiaceae native to most parts of Southeast Asia ...

'', ''

Arbutus canariensis ''Arbutus canariensis'', known in Spanish as ''madroño canario'', is a species of shrub or tree in the Ericaceae, heath family. It is Endemism, endemic to the Canary Islands of Spain, specifically Tenerife, La Gomera, Gran Canaria, El Hierro, an ...

'', ''

Cibotium regale ''Cibotium regale'', common name royal cibotium or royal Mexican tree fern, is a species of tropical tree fern belonging to the family Cibotiaceae. Description ''Cibotium regale'' can reach a height of and a diameter of . Leaves are bipinnate, ...

'', ''

Cibotium schiedei ''Cibotium schiedei'', common name Mexican tree fern, is a species of tree fern, of the genus ''Cibotium''. Etymology The genus name ''Cibotium'' is derived from the Greek ''kibootion'', meaning chest or box, while the epithet ''schiedei'' honor ...

'', ''

Diospyros kaki ''Diospyros kaki'', the Oriental persimmon, Chinese persimmon, Japanese persimmon or kaki persimmon, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Diospyros''. Although its first botanical description was not published until 1780,Publis ...

'', ''

Ginkgo biloba ''Ginkgo biloba'', commonly known as ginkgo or gingko ( ), also known as the maidenhair tree, is a species of tree native to China. It is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales, which first appeared over 290 million years ago. Fossils ...

'', ''

Peumus boldus ''Peumus boldus'', the only species in the genus ''Peumus'', is commonly known as boldo (from the Mapuche name ''foḻo''). This tree of the family Monimiaceae is natively endemic to the central region of Chile, occurring from 33° to 40° sou ...

'', ''

Phoenix canariensis ''Phoenix canariensis'', the Canary Island date palm or pineapple palm, is a species of flowering plant in the palm family Arecaceae, native to the Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco. It is a relative of ''Phoenix dactylifera'', the true dat ...

'', ''

Phytolacca dioica ''Phytolacca dioica'', commonly known as ombú, is a massive evergreen tree native to the Pampa of Argentina. As its specific epithet suggests, it is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants. It has an umbrella-like canopy t ...

'', ''

Quercus laurifolia ''Quercus laurifolia'' (swamp laurel oak, diamond-leaf oak, water oak, obtusa oak, laurel oak) is a medium-sized semi-evergreen oak in the red oak section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Lobatae''. It is native to the southeastern and south-central the Unite ...

'', and ''

Washingtonia filifera ''Washingtonia filifera'', the desert fan palm, California fan palm, or California palm,Flora of North America Association. ''Flora of North America: North of Mexico Volume 22: Magnoliophyta: Alismatidae, Arecidae, Commelinidae (in Part), and Zi ...

''. The garden's six greenhouses cover about 1,000 m² on three floors, with contents as follows:

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 ...

s; tropical plants including 25

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending in ...

varieties and a ''

Ravenala madagascariensis ''Ravenala'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants. Classically, the genus was considered to include a single species, ''Ravenala madagascariensis'', commonly known as the traveller's tree, traveller's palm or East-West palm, from Mada ...

''; tropical aquatic plants;

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

s including 30

Euphorbia ''Euphorbia'' is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae. "Euphorbia" is sometimes used in ordinary English to collectively refer to all members of Euphorbiaceae (in deference to t ...

species; herbaceous plants including

Bromeliaceae The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain o ...

and

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

; and a

Cycadaceae ''Cycas'' is a genus of plants belonging to a very ancient lineage, the Cycadophyta, which are not closely related to palms, ferns, trees or any other modern group of plants. They are evergreen perennial plant, perennials which achieved their maxi ...

collection.

References

Orto Botanico dell'Università di Genova (Italian)

BGCI entry

* S. Gentile, "L'Orto Botanico dell'Università di Genova", in ''Orti Botanici, Giardini Alpini'', F. M. Raimondo (ed), Arboreti Italiani, 1: 105–111. Edizioni Grifo, Palermo. 1992. * L. Minuto, "Il catalogo dell'Orto Botanico redatto da Domenico Viviani nel 1819", ''Museol. sci.'' XI, (1–2): 29–64. 1994. * R.E.G. Pichi Sermolli, "L'Orto Botanico di Genova", ''Agricoltura'' 12(4): 3–6. Rome. 1963. {{DEFAULTSORT:Orto Botanico Dell Universita di Genova Botanical gardens in Italy Gardens in Liguria University of Genoa Buildings and structures in Genoa Culture in Genoa 1803 establishments in Italy 1803 in science Metropolitan City of Genoa Tourist attractions in Genoa

See also

References