The Manie van der Schijff Botanical Garden was formally established in 1934 and is managed by the
University of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 ...
. Although the garden was originally established to support research and the conservation of indigenous plants, the garden is open to the public.
History
The garden had its beginnings in 1924 when the first ''
Pavetta
''Pavetta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It comprises about 360 species of trees, evergreen shrubs and sub-shrubs. It is found in woodlands, grasslands and thickets in sub-tropical and tropical Africa and Asia. The plan ...
'' species were planted on the campus for research purposes, and the first
cycads
Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody ( ligneous) trunk with a crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants of a species are either male or ...
were added to the botanical collections of the university. In the 1930s however, Berend Elbrecht's enthusiasm and passion for
southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...
n flora gave the impetus for the planting of a number of tree and
cycad
Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk with a crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants of a species are either male o ...
species during his tenure.
[ In 1986, the contributions of Prof. Manie van der Schijff was honoured when the garden was named after him.
]
Activities and layout
The content and activities of the garden are formulated and implemented by committee. About 3,000 plant species are present on about 3.5 ha of the west campus.cycad
Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk with a crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants of a species are either male o ...
collection, managed by its own curator, and is involved in active horticultural research with such new installations as the rainwater harvesting garden and the cremnophyte based green walls of the new Plant Science building. Both of these projects mimic natural systems so as to create habitat for specialized plant species.[
Aims of the garden include awareness of southern African flora through dissemination and acquisition of botanical knowledge, provision of plant material for education and research, collection and propagation of rare species, as well as research into southern African plants with horticultural potential.][
]
See also
* List of botanical gardens in South Africa
This list of botanical gardens in South Africa is intended to include all significant botanical gardens and arboretums in South Africa.
See also
* Protected areas of South Africa
* List of botanical gardens
* List of tourist attractions wo ...
*
*
References
External links
Manie van der Schijff Botanical Garden, facebook
The official webpage of the MvdS Botanical Garden
{{Biodiversity of South Africa, natres
Botanical gardens in South Africa
University of Pretoria