McKee Botanical Garden

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

McKee Jungle Gardens
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)

Location:	Indian River County, Florida, USA
Nearest city:	Vero Beach, Florida
Established:	January 7, 1998
Governing body:	National Park Service

The McKee Botanical Garden 18 acres (7.3 hectares) is a private, non-profit, subtropical botanical garden in Vero Beach, Florida, United States. It is located at 350 U.S. Highway 1, Vero Beach, Florida, USA. It is a Florida landmark and on January 7, 1998, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places under its former name of McKee Jungle Gardens.

1 History
2 Flora
3 See also
4 References and external links

[edit] History

The Garden was originally established in 1929 as a commercial concern, when a partnership purchased an 80 acre (32 hectares) tropical hammock along the Indian River to establish McKee Jungle Gardens. Tropical landscape architect William Lyman Phillips designed its streams, ponds, and trails, and its indigenous vegetation was augmented with ornamental plants and seeds from around the world. Although the Garden was successful for several decades, it had to shut down in 1976, and most of its land was sold for development. However, today's site remained vacant for twenty years, and was purchased in 1995 by the Indian River Land Trust. The current Garden was formally dedicated in 2001.

[edit] Flora

The Garden's collections currently include:

Acacia farnesiana, Adenium obesum, Aechmea 'Blue Tango', Aechmea leuddemanniana 'Mend', Aechmea pineliana var. minuta, Aechmea 'Li'l Harvey', Aleurites moluccana, Alpina purpurata 'Eileen McDonald', Alpina zerumbet, Alpinia calcarata, Alpinia zerumbet, Ananas comosus, Annona glabra, Annona muricata, Anthurium 'White Gemini', Ardisia crenata, Ardisia escallononioides, Aristolochia gigantean, Aristolochia grandiflora, Asclepias species, Bambusa Chungii, Barleria micans, Bauhinia punctata, Bauhinia species, Begonia 'Beefsteak', Belamcanda chinensis, Bilbergia species, Bixa orellana, Bromelia pinquin, Brugmansia species, Brunfelsia jamaicensis, Caladium 'Aaron', Caladium 'Florida Starburst', Caladium 'Florida Sweet Heart', Caladium 'Freda Hemple', Caladium 'Ginger Land', Caladium 'June Bride', Caladium 'White Queen', Caldium 'Scarlet Pimpernel', Calliandra haematocephala, Calliandra haematocephala, Callicarpa Americana, Callicarpa americana alba, Canna species, Carica papaya, Chamaedorea tepejilote, Clerodendron fairchildianum 'Musical Note', Clerodendron speciosissimum, Clerodendrum bungii, Clerodendrum quadriloculare, Clerodendrum thomsoniae, Clerodendrum ugandense, Clivia species, Congea tomentosa, Cordia lutea, Corida boissieri, Costas barbatus, Crinum americanum, Crinum asiaticum, Crinum species (dwarf), Curculigo capitulate, Curcuma species, Delonix regia, Dendrobium × hybrid, Dichromena species, Dombeya wallichii, Dracaena fragrens, Epidendrum 'Kauai Sunrise', Eucalyptus deglupta, Ficus Benghalensis, Ficus natalensis leprieurii, Gigantochloa pseudoarundidacea, Glandularia tampensis, Grewia caffra, Habranthus brachyandrus, Hamelia cuprea, Hamelia macrantha, Hamelia patens, Hedychium gardneranum, Heliconia rostrata, Hibiscus coccineus, Hibiscus rosa-sinenses, Hoya carnosa, Ipomoea fistulosa, Jacquemontia penthantha, Jatropha podagrica, Justicia species, Kaempferi pulchara, Laelia pacavia, Citharexylum]] fruticosum, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Lantana trifolia, Lonicera sempervirens, lpomoea fistulosa, Megaskepas erythrochlamys, Mussaenda 'Dona Aurora', Myrsine guianensis, Nelumbo 'Mrs. Peggy Slocum', Nelumbo species, Nymphaea species, Odentatum stricta, Oxalis 'Montana', Passiflora citrine, Passiflora hahnii, Passiflora species, Passiflora x violacea, Pentas lanceolata, Petrea volubilis, Phoenix hybrid, Plumbago scandens, Plumeria species, Podranea ricasoliana, Pseuderanthemum alatum, Pseudobombax ellipticum, Rondeletia leucophylla], Ruellia brittoniana, Russelia equisetiformis, Russelia sarmentosa, Sagittaria lancifolia, Stachytarpheta urticifolia, and Victoria cruziana.