Tsukuba Botanical Garden
Encyclopedia
The is a major botanical garden
located near the University of Tsukuba
at 4-1-1 Amakubo, Tsukuba
, Ibaraki Prefecture
, Japan
. It is open daily except Mondays; an admission fee is charged.
As a research branch of the National Science Museum of Japan
, the garden is one of Japan's foremost botanical research facilities and also provides public education. It currently contains about 5000 taxa
of domestic and exotic plants from temperate and tropical regions around the world, with a particular emphasis on vascular plant
s of central Japan
, East Asia
n fern
s, Cycadaceae, Colocasia
, and South America
n orchids.
The garden's outdoor collections are arranged into the following areas: Evergreen Broad-leaved Forest Section, Temperate Coniferous Forest Section, Warm-temperate Deciduous Broad-leaved Forest Section, Cool-temperate Deciduous Broad-leaved Forest Section, Shrubs Section, Sandy and Gravelly Sections, Montane Grassland Section (High Altitudes), Montane Grassland Section (Low Altitudes), Rookeries Section (Coastral), Rookeries Section (High Altitudes), Marsh Plants Section, and Hygrophytes and Aquatic Plants Sections.
The garden also contains three greenhouse
s:
As of 2007 the garden supports eight researchers in plant taxonomy
, with ongoing studies in cytotaxonomy to determine the number and shape of chromosome
s, molecular biology
based on DNA sequencing
, chemotaxonomy
using secondary metabolite
s, and plant morphology
based on branching systems and pedology
.
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
located near the University of Tsukuba
University of Tsukuba
is located in the city of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture in the Kantō region of Japan. The University has 28 college clusters and schools with a total of around 15,000 students...
at 4-1-1 Amakubo, Tsukuba
Tsukuba, Ibaraki
is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. It is known as the location of the , a planned city developed in the 1960s.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 207,394 and a population density of 730 persons per km². Its total area is 284.07 km².Mount Tsukuba, particularly well-known...
, Ibaraki Prefecture
Ibaraki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is Mito.-History:Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It is open daily except Mondays; an admission fee is charged.
As a research branch of the National Science Museum of Japan
National Science Museum of Japan
The is located in the northeast corner of Ueno park in Tokyo. Opened in 1871, the museum has had several names, including Ministry of Education Museum, Tokyo Museum, Tokyo Science Museum, the National Science Museum of Japan, and currently the National Museum of Nature and Science as of 2007...
, the garden is one of Japan's foremost botanical research facilities and also provides public education. It currently contains about 5000 taxa
Taxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
of domestic and exotic plants from temperate and tropical regions around the world, with a particular emphasis on vascular plant
Vascular plant
Vascular plants are those plants that have lignified tissues for conducting water, minerals, and photosynthetic products through the plant. Vascular plants include the clubmosses, Equisetum, ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms...
s of central Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
n fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s, Cycadaceae, Colocasia
Colocasia
Colocasia is a genus of 25 or more species of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical Polynesia and southeastern Asia. Common names include Elephant-ear, Taro, Cocoyam, Dasheen,Chembu, and Eddoe...
, and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n orchids.
The garden's outdoor collections are arranged into the following areas: Evergreen Broad-leaved Forest Section, Temperate Coniferous Forest Section, Warm-temperate Deciduous Broad-leaved Forest Section, Cool-temperate Deciduous Broad-leaved Forest Section, Shrubs Section, Sandy and Gravelly Sections, Montane Grassland Section (High Altitudes), Montane Grassland Section (Low Altitudes), Rookeries Section (Coastral), Rookeries Section (High Altitudes), Marsh Plants Section, and Hygrophytes and Aquatic Plants Sections.
The garden also contains three greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
s:
- Tropical Resource Plants House (about 550 m², 17.5m high) - useful plants from the tropicsTropicsThe tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
.
- Tropical Rain Forest House (about 24 meters high) - two rooms for Lowland and Montane climates, emphasizing plants of AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n-Pacific regions. The Montane room conserves species such as fagaceous, ericaceous, and orchidaceous plants with high diversities in South-east Asia.
- Savanna House - tropical and subtropical plants from semi-arid savannaSavannaA savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
areas, with zones for the AmericasAmericasThe Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, and AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
As of 2007 the garden supports eight researchers in plant taxonomy
Plant taxonomy
Plant taxonomy is the science that finds, describes, classifies, identifies, and names plants. It thus is one of the main branches of taxonomy.Plant taxonomy is closely allied to plant systematics, and there is no sharp boundary between the two...
, with ongoing studies in cytotaxonomy to determine the number and shape of chromosome
Chromosome
A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein found in cells. It is a single piece of coiled DNA containing many genes, regulatory elements and other nucleotide sequences. Chromosomes also contain DNA-bound proteins, which serve to package the DNA and control its functions.Chromosomes...
s, molecular biology
Molecular biology
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...
based on DNA sequencing
DNA sequencing
DNA sequencing includes several methods and technologies that are used for determining the order of the nucleotide bases—adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine—in a molecule of DNA....
, chemotaxonomy
Chemotaxonomy
Chemotaxonomy , also called chemosystematics, is the attempt to classify and identify organisms , according to demonstrable differences and similarities in their biochemical compositions. The compounds studied in most of the cases are mostly proteins, amino acids and peptides...
using secondary metabolite
Secondary metabolite
Secondary metabolites are organic compounds that are not directly involved in the normal growth, development, or reproduction of an organism. Unlike primary metabolites, absence of secondary metabolities does not result in immediate death, but rather in long-term impairment of the organism's...
s, and plant morphology
Plant morphology
Plant morphology or phytomorphology is the study of the physical form and external structure of plants. This is usually considered distinct from plant anatomy, which is the study of the internal structure of plants, especially at the microscopic level...
based on branching systems and pedology
Pedology
Pedology may refer to:*Pedology *Pedology *Pediatrics...
.