Bogor Botanical Gardens
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The Bogor Botanical Gardens are located 60 km south of the capital of Jakarta in Bogor, Indonesia. The botanical gardens are situated in the city center of Bogor and adjoin the Istana Bogor (Presidential Palace). The gardens cover more than 80 hectares and are said to be the inspiration of Sir Stamford Raffles who was governor of Java from 1811-1816.
The extensive grounds of the presidential palace were converted into the gardens by the German-born Dutch botanist, Professor Casper George Carl Reinwardt. The gardens officially opened in 1817 and were used to research and develop plants and seeds from other parts of the Indonesian archipelago for cultivation during the 19th century. This is a tradition that continues today and contributes to the garden's reputation as a major center for botanical research.
Today the garden contains more than 15,000 species of trees and plants located among streams and lotus ponds. There are 400 types of exceptional palms to be found along the extensive lawns and avenues, helping the gardens create a refuge for more than 50 different varieties of birds and for groups of bats roosting high in the trees. The bats can be easily detected by the noise they make while competing for space under the canopies. The orchid houses contain some 3000 varieties.
[edit] Directors of the garden
- 1817-1822 : Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt (1773-1854).
- 1823-1826 : Carl Ludwig Blume (1789-1862).
- 1830-1869 : Johannes Elias Teijsmann (1808-1882).
- 1869-1880 : Rudolph Herman Christiaan Carel Scheffer (1844-1880).
- 1880-1910 : Melchior Treub (1851-1910).
- 1918-1932 : Willem Marius Docters van Leeuwen (1880-1960).
- 1932-1943 : Hermann Ernst Wolff von Wülfing (1891-1945).
- 1943-1945 : Takenosin Nakai (1882-1952).
- 1948-1951 : Dirk Fok van Slooten (1891-1953).
