Arboretum Lussich
Encyclopedia
The Arboretum Lussich is an arboretum
of 192ha
(470 acres approx.) located in the Maldonado Department
of Uruguay
near Punta del Este
and Punta Ballena
.
bought a terrain of 4447 acres (1,799.6 ha), which extend from "Arroyo el Potrero" to "Sierra de la Ballena" and from Rio de la Plata
to Laguna del Sauce
, land which at that time consisted only of sand dunes and stones.
The next year Antonio Lussich started the forestry works which had as objective on one hand, to forest the dry lands in an attempt to stop the high winds that came from the ocean, and on the other, once the forest was established, to encourage birds to inhabit it.
In order to do that, Antonio Lussich, thanks to the enterprise of maritime rescue contracts obtained all over the world, could manage to get seeds from numerous continents. He bought seeds, plants and trees from around the world and planted them around his house.
The first trees planted were: Tamarix
, Sea pines, Eucalyptus
and the Acacia trinervis
to resist the strong winds and sand.
During December 1979, 182ha
(450 Acres approx.) was donated to the Municipality of Maldonado and then opened to the public.
The Arboretum Lussich is one of the most important Forest Reserves in the world.
.
and around 70 Uruguayan
species.
.
Between many of the trees species, the most important are:
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
of 192ha
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
(470 acres approx.) located in the Maldonado Department
Maldonado Department
The Maldonado Department , with an area of and 140,192 inhabitants, is located to the southeast of Uruguay. Its capital is Maldonado.-Geography and climate:...
of Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
near Punta del Este
Punta del Este
Punta del Este is a resort town on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. It is located on the intersection of Route 10 with Route 39, directly southeast of the department capital Maldonado and about east of Montevideo...
and Punta Ballena
Punta Ballena
Punta Ballena is a small peninsula and a resort , as well as an important tourist attraction on the coast of Río de la Plata in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. It comprises an approximately long stripe of beaches and landforms and extends on both sides of Route 10...
.
History
On 5 October 1896 Antonio LussichAntonio Lussich
Antonio Dionisio Lussich was an Uruguayan sailor, arboricultorist and writer.-Family background:...
bought a terrain of 4447 acres (1,799.6 ha), which extend from "Arroyo el Potrero" to "Sierra de la Ballena" and from Rio de la Plata
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
to Laguna del Sauce
Laguna del Sauce
Laguna del Sauce is the largest water body in the Maldonado Department of Uruguay. It is located west of Punta del Este.-Geography:...
, land which at that time consisted only of sand dunes and stones.
The next year Antonio Lussich started the forestry works which had as objective on one hand, to forest the dry lands in an attempt to stop the high winds that came from the ocean, and on the other, once the forest was established, to encourage birds to inhabit it.
In order to do that, Antonio Lussich, thanks to the enterprise of maritime rescue contracts obtained all over the world, could manage to get seeds from numerous continents. He bought seeds, plants and trees from around the world and planted them around his house.
The first trees planted were: Tamarix
Tamarix
The genus Tamarix is composed of about 50-60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa...
, Sea pines, Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
and the Acacia trinervis
Acacia longifolia
Acacia longifolia is a species of Acacia native to southeastern Australia, from the extreme southeast of Queensland, eastern New South Wales, eastern and southern Victoria, and southeastern South Australia. Common names for it include Acacia Trinervis, Aroma Doble, Golden Wattle, Coast Wattle,...
to resist the strong winds and sand.
During December 1979, 182ha
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
(450 Acres approx.) was donated to the Municipality of Maldonado and then opened to the public.
The Arboretum Lussich is one of the most important Forest Reserves in the world.
.
Species
The Arboretum Lussich has more than 400 Exotic speciesSpecies
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
and around 70 Uruguayan
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
species.
.
Between many of the trees species, the most important are:
- Abies, 6 species.
- AcaciaAcaciaAcacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
, 8 species. - CupressusCupressusThe genus Cupressus is one of several genera within the family Cupressaceae that have the common name cypress; for the others, see cypress. It is considered a polyphyletic group...
, 9 species. - EucalyptusEucalyptusEucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
, 45 species. - Juniperus, 10 species.
- Pinus, 20 species.
- Quercus, 16 species.
- ThujaThujaThuja is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae . There are five species in the genus, two native to North America and three native to eastern Asia...
, 4 species.