University of South Florida Botanical Gardens
Encyclopedia
The University of South Florida Botanical Gardens 15 acres (6.1 hectares) are located on the campus of the University of South Florida
in Tampa, Florida
, USA
, and consist of 7 acres (2.8 hectares) of developed gardens plus 6 to 9 acres (2.4 to 3.6 hectares) of natural greenbelt. The gardens are open to the public during weekday business hours, and on shorter weekend hours. Admission is free.
The Gardens were established in 1969, and in the early 1970s many of today's temperate, subtropical and tropical trees and shrubs were planted. During the late 1970s and 1980's, the palm garden, the wetland forest, and sand scrub beds were planted. New structures and demonstration gardens were built in the 1990s.
Today the gardens contain over 3,000 taxa of plants including: fruit
trees, grass
es, begonia
s, orchids, bromeliads, palm
s, aroids, ginger
s, carnivorous plant
s, cycad
s, cactus
and succulent plants, an herb
and scent garden, wetland
forest, temperate forest, subtropical shade garden, and Florida upland scrub and sandhill habitats.
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...
in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and consist of 7 acres (2.8 hectares) of developed gardens plus 6 to 9 acres (2.4 to 3.6 hectares) of natural greenbelt. The gardens are open to the public during weekday business hours, and on shorter weekend hours. Admission is free.
The Gardens were established in 1969, and in the early 1970s many of today's temperate, subtropical and tropical trees and shrubs were planted. During the late 1970s and 1980's, the palm garden, the wetland forest, and sand scrub beds were planted. New structures and demonstration gardens were built in the 1990s.
Today the gardens contain over 3,000 taxa of plants including: fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
trees, grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
es, begonia
Begonia
Begonia is a genus in the flowering plant family Begoniaceae and is a perennial. The only other members of the family Begoniaceae are Hillebrandia, a genus with a single species in the Hawaiian Islands, and the genus Symbegonia which more recently was included in Begonia...
s, orchids, bromeliads, palm
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
s, aroids, ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
s, carnivorous plant
Carnivorous plant
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods. Carnivorous plants appear adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic...
s, cycad
Cycad
Cycads are seed plants typically characterized by a stout and woody trunk with a crown of large, hard and stiff, evergreen leaves. They usually have pinnate leaves. The individual plants are either all male or all female . Cycads vary in size from having a trunk that is only a few centimeters...
s, cactus
Cactus
A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
and succulent plants, an herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
and scent garden, wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
forest, temperate forest, subtropical shade garden, and Florida upland scrub and sandhill habitats.
External links
- USF Botanical Gardens official Web site