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Quite interestingly, Indonesia sports two different kinds of flora and fauna thereby making its vegetation a very distinctive one. Falling under the Melanesian region, Indonesia inherits this unique characteristic of having an impressive variety of 40, 000 species of plants. The flora family consists of around 6,000 species used for both traditional and medicinal purposes. Owing to the bountiful nature, a lot of Botanical gardens and Parks have emerged in and around the neighboring cities of Indonesia. Quite evidently, the capital city, Jakarta is the venue of one of Indonesia’s premier botanical gardens, Cibodas Botanical Garden. Also known as Cibodas National Garden and founded by J.E Teysmann in 1862, this garden is well known as one of the first class tropical research stations in the world and has aided innumerable scientists in their research on tropical rain forests and is situated at the base of the Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park. The Garden is now a part of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.
Features of Cibodas Botanical Garden in Jakarta
- The Garden is located at a high altitude of 1300-1425 meters on the slopes of Mount-Gede Pangrango. The Garden is spread over a huge area and has an uneven topography interspersed by rugged terrain, valleys and waterfalls. - The Cibodas botanical Garden has an exotic species of plants but the natural formations (sub montane and moss) are the finest examples to be relished in the whole of Java. The current collection of the park counts 5831 living specimens from 1206 species. - The exclusive collection consists of a rich fern collection, floral gardens, cacti and succulents, bamboo, palms and conifers collection. The local favorites include orchids, Indonesian Oak and chestnut and Javanese Rhododendron. - The Garden houses a herbarium and a seed museum for the purpose of research, development and conservation. The 649 species of seeds present in the seed museum are used for seed identification whereas the 1503 species are the pride of the herbarium. - The Garden is a landmark in history as it was the first site for Quinine cultivation in Indonesia. The first plant was imported from South America. Same goes for the Eucalyptus species from Australia and conifers from America that frequents the landscape now. - Plants like Acacia, camellia and other temperate species also feature in the collection of the garden for decorative and commercial purpose. - The Garden’s terrain offers good conditions for trekking and is dotted with beautiful waterfalls natural as well as man made which make for good resting sites. - The Cibodas Botanical Garden maintains a guest house, library and nursery which provide for accommodation and research facilities to the research workers and visiting students. Fast Facts about Cibodas Botanical Garden in Jakarta Address- Jalan Raya Cibodas, Cipanas, Cianjur- 43253, West Java, Indonesia Contact Number- 062-255-512776
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