San Juan Botanical Garden facts for kids
Quick facts for kids San Juan Botanical Garden |
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The rare red sealing wax palm from Malaysia can be found in the Botanical Garden's Aquatic Garden.
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| Type | Botanical Garden |
| Location | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Area | 300 acres (120 ha) |
| Created | 12 September 1969 |
The San Juan Botanical Garden is a beautiful green space in San Juan, the capital city of Puerto Rico. It's also known as the Botanical Garden of the University of Puerto Rico. This huge "urban garden" covers about 300 acres (1.2 square kilometers). It's filled with both local and plants from other parts of the world.
The garden is like a living classroom. It helps people study, protect, and learn about many different plants, trees, flowers, and grasses. About 75 acres of the garden are specially designed and open for everyone to visit, including students and scientists. You can find the entrance off Highway 1 and Road 847 in Río Piedras. Next to the garden is the "Urban Forest of the New Millennium," a special project to help grow and protect city forests.
History of the Garden
The idea for the botanical garden started in 1959. It was officially approved on September 12, 1969. Thanks to Mr. Arturo Roque and Dr. Jaime Benítez, who was the university president, the garden first opened its doors on March 10, 1971.
The garden is part of the University of Puerto Rico. It was partly open to visitors from 1971 until 1989. However, after Hurricane Hugo hit, the garden had to close for repairs. It reopened to the public in 1991. Today, the garden's plant collections, lakes, waterfalls, and shelters are connected by paths and walkways. This makes it easy for visitors to explore and enjoy the amazing local and tropical plants.
Amazing Plant Collections
The San Juan Botanical Garden has many special areas, each with different types of plants. It also features modern sculptures by artists from Puerto Rico and Latin America.
- Garden of Heliconias: This section is full of bright and colorful heliconia plants. Most are from the tropical parts of the Americas, but there are also some from Asia.
- Bamboo Chapel: Imagine a small, peaceful chapel surrounded by a forest of tall, feathery bamboo plants.
- Orchid Garden: Here you'll find a large collection of beautiful orchid species. There's a special group of Cattleya orchids too.
- Monet's Garden: This area is inspired by Monet's famous water garden in France. It has water lilies and other aquatic plants adapted for the tropical climate.
- Palmetum: This section is home to over 125 different kinds of palm trees.
- Aquatic Garden: This garden features plants that love water, like papyrus and the striking red sealing wax palms.
- Taíno Garden: This is a special collection of trees that were important to the daily life of the Taíno Indians, the native people of Puerto Rico.
- The Herbarium: This is like a plant library! It has over 36,000 dried plant samples. Students and researchers from Puerto Rico and other parts of the world use these samples for study.
The garden is a living laboratory. It helps the community learn about local plants and all the other amazing plants grown there.
Protecting Rare Plants
The northern part of the garden is dedicated to plants found only in Puerto Rico. This includes some very rare plants that are in danger of disappearing from the wild. For example, the genus Stahlia has only one species, Stahlia monosperma. This plant is found naturally only in Puerto Rico and the eastern Dominican Republic. It's known as Cóbana Negra in Puerto Rico and is listed as an endangered species.
See also
In Spanish: Jardín botánico de San Juan para niños
