Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
Kirstenbosch is an important botanical garden nestled at the eastern foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town. The garden is one of 10 National Botanical Gardens covering five of South Africa's six different biomes and administered by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Prior to 1 September 2004, the institute was known as the National Botanical Institute.
| Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden | |
|---|---|
Top, a view of the gardens facing north west with Table Mountain dominating the skyline Mid left, inside the Conservatory housing plants from arid biomes Mid right, the Centenary Tree Canopy Walkway, also known as the Boomslang Bottom left, Colonel Bird’s Bath also known as ‘Lady Anne Barnard’s Bath Bottom right, the indigenous herb garden | |
| Type | Botanical garden |
| Location | Cape Town, South Africa |
| Coordinates | 33°59′15″S 18°25′57″E |
| Area | 528 hectares (1,300 acres) |
| Created | 1913 |
| Operated by | South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) |
| Website | sanbi |
Kirstenbosch places a strong emphasis on the cultivation of indigenous plants. When Kirstenbosch was founded in 1913 to preserve the flora native to the South Africa’s territory, it was the first botanical garden in the world with this ethos, at a time when invasive species were not considered an ecological and environmental problem.
The garden includes a large conservatory (The Botanical Society Conservatory) exhibiting plants from a number of different regions, including savanna, fynbos, karoo and others. Outdoors, the focus is on plants native to the Cape region, highlighted by the spectacular collections of proteas. It is a level IV accredited Arboreta by the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and The Morton Arboretum.