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Friendship Tree
Friendship Tree Garden Museum
Friendship Tree Garden Museum 15.JPG
The Friendship Tree,
in the Subtropical Botanical Garden.
Type Botanical
Location 2/28 Fabritsiusa Street, Tsentralny City District, Sochi, Russia, 354002
Owned by Institute of Floriculture and Subtropical Crops
Operated by Russian Scientific Botanical Institute.
Species > 200, in eighty Families.
Collections subtropical fruits,
subtropical ornamental plants.

The Friendship Tree is a very special citrus tree located in the Friendship Tree Garden Museum and Subtropical Botanical Garden. You can find it in the central part of Sochi, a city on the Black Sea coast in southern Russia.

This amazing tree became famous because people from 167 countries around the world have added small branches, called sprigs, to it. They did this using a technique called grafting. Each new sprig is a symbol of international friendship and living peacefully with nature.

How the Friendship Tree Started

The Friendship Tree began as a science experiment. A scientist named FM Zorin planted it in 1934. He wanted to create a new type of mandarin orange at the Sochi Agricultural and Garden Experiment Station.

Over time, 45 different kinds of citrus fruits were grafted onto this single tree. More citrus trees were also planted in the botanical gardens around it.

A Special Visitor and a New Tradition

In 1940, a famous arctic explorer and Soviet scientist, Otto Yulyevich Schmidt, visited the tree. To show his love for nature, he grafted a new citrus bud onto the tree.

After this, people from many different countries, backgrounds, and jobs followed his example. This started a new tradition. In 1957, some doctors from Vietnam suggested calling the experimental citrus tree the "Friendship Tree." The name stuck!

Famous People and Their Grafts

Many important people have added grafts to the Friendship Tree. These include leaders of countries, well-known public figures, scientists, artists, and even astronauts and athletes.

For example, Irina Rodnina, a Soviet Olympic Gold Medalist in figure skating, added a graft in 1976. Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon also added one in 2013. Each graft has a small metal tag. This tag shows the name of the person who added it and the date.

The Botanical Garden and Museum

The Subtropical Botanical Garden is a unique place. It's like a living museum of nature. It's part of the Russian Institute of Floriculture and Subtropical Crops.

The garden is home to the Friendship Tree and its special museum. It also has many living collections of plants. You can see subtropical fruits, beautiful flowering plants, and other subtropical climate ornamental plants. There are plants from eighty different botanical families growing here! The garden also has lovely paths, pretty ponds, and comfy sitting areas.

What's Inside the Museum?

The Friendship Tree Garden Museum helps visitors learn more about this special tree. Inside, you can find:

  • The story of the Friendship Tree, told with words and pictures.
  • Many guest books filled with messages from visitors. These messages are about peace, friendship, and harmony, inspired by the tree.
  • Lots of gifts that celebrate the Friendship Tree. These gifts come from cultures and traditions all over the world.

See also

Images for kids

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 15

    Friendship Tree in the Subtropical Botanical Garden

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 16

    Friendship Tree Garden Museum structure

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 18

    FM Zorin — the founder of the Friendship Tree and Subtropical Botanical Garden

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 22

    Near the entrance to the Subtropical Botanical Garden

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 19

    Entrance kiosk to the Subtropical Botanical Garden

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 01

    Friendship Tree Garden Museum sign on Kurortniy Prospect Street

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 02

    Friendship Tree Garden Museum sign

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 17

    Irina Rodnina placing graft on Friendship Tree (1976)

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 13

    Ban Ki-moon graft label (2013)

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 12

    Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko graft label (1991).

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 09

    Tangerine in the Subtropical Botanical Garden

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 06

    Path in the botanical garden

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 03

    Flower in the botanical garden

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 14

    Bee

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 05

    Path in botanical garden to sitting area

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 04

    Sitting area lounge

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 20

    Visitors sign, terms and conditions

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 21

    Visitors sign, price-list

  • Friendship Tree Garden Museum 11

    Sign beside the historic Friendship Tree

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Friendship Tree Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.