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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 Tsentralny city district of Sochi, a city on the east coast of the Black Sea in southern Russia. This tree is famous because people from 167 different countries have added citrus branches to it. These branches are grafted onto the tree as symbols of friendship between nations and living in peace with nature.

The Friendship Tree's Story

The Friendship Tree began as a science project. A scientist named FM Zorin planted it in Sochi to create a new type of mandarin orange. He experimented by grafting 45 different kinds of citrus fruits onto this one tree. More trees were planted in the botanical gardens later.

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. This started a wonderful tradition!

People from all over the world, with different jobs and beliefs, continued this example. In 1957, doctors from Vietnam suggested calling the experimental citrus tree the "Friendship Tree." The name stuck!

Many important people have added grafts to the tree. These include leaders of countries, famous public figures, scientists, artists, and even astronauts and athletes. For example, the Soviet Olympic Gold Medalist in figure skating, Irina Rodnina, added a graft in 1976. The 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 the graft and the date it happened.

Exploring the Botanical Garden

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 famous Friendship Tree and its museum. It also has many living collections of subtropical fruit trees. You can also see beautiful flowering plants and other subtropical climate ornamental plants. The garden grows plants from eighty different botanical families. You can walk along lovely garden paths, see pretty ponds, and relax in special sitting areas.

The Friendship Tree Museum

The Friendship Tree Garden Museum is a great place to learn more. It shows:

  • The history of the Friendship Tree with pictures and stories.
  • Many guest books filled with messages from visitors. These messages are about peace, friendship, and harmony. People from Russia and other countries have written in them.
  • Lots of gifts that celebrate the Friendship Tree. These gifts show different cultures and traditions from around the world.

See also

Gallery

  • 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.