years Hortus
botanicus Leiden
Plants in the tropical greenhouse photo Wim Sonius
Contents
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Welcome to the Hortus botanicus!
The 16th century Wonder – the early days of botany
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Inhoud
The 17th century The world as a source of riches The 18th century More and more plants: classification required The 19th century Plants for gardens and glasshouses The 20th century The plant as an individual The 21st century Cooperation and conservation
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The Front garden with Clusius Garden and Winter Garden photo Hans Clauzing
Welcome to the Hortus botanicus! The Hortus botanicus Leiden was founded in 1590, and is  thus the oldest botanical garden in Western Europe. The gardens were first laid out in 1594, behind the Academy building, and expanded over the course of subsequent centuries to their current 3 hectares (7.5 acres). From its earliest days onwards the Hortus was not the exclusive domain of students and scientists but also welcomed visitors; the Hortus botanicus Leiden has always been a museum with a lively, living collection. Each century has its own chapter in this guide, providing information about contemporary science, the garden, the people and the plants. We cannot possibly tell you everything about the Hortus in this guide: it does not tell the whole story, but rather highlights a few areas, people and plants for each century. We invite you to explore the garden and the glasshouses, guided by the map at the back of this book.
Welcome to the Hortus botanicus!
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20e eeuw Reuzenaronskelk
The 16th century Tulipa
Wonder – the early days of botany
The 16th century
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Fritillary Libri Picturati A21.075, Biblioteka Jagiello麓nska, Krak贸w
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As long ago as the 16th century people were already under taking long voyages, to America, South Africa and the East, and they often covered great distances within Europe on horseback. It is astonishing just how much of Europe Clusius, the first Hortus prefect, had seen, and just how great his personal communication network was. This was not a calm century politically: the effects of the Reformation and of the Eighty Years War (1568 – 1648) were apparent in the Netherlands and throughout the European continent. The invention of the printing press enabled a far wider dissemination of information than had previously been possible. The first books about plants were herbals, illustrated with woodcuts; an effect was ascribed to each plant, with the idea that every single thing in creation had a purpose. Much of this information came from the translation of the De Materia Medica, written by the Greek doctor Dioscorides in the 1st century CE.
Plant lovers and experts Plant experts, often doctors, started to look more closely at the plants growing in and beyond their gardens, and discovered that they often encountered different species than those of the Mediterranean region as described by Dioscorides. They started to look at the entire plant: not just the flowers, but the fruits and the roots too. The first botanical gardens, such as those in Pisa (1544) and Padua (1545) were founded so that plants could be studied. The first herbaria, collections of dried plants, still in existence today also date from this century, for instance those assembled The 16th century
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Dragon tree
Dragon tree
Libri Picturati A23.028, Biblioteka Jagiello´nska, Kraków
woodcut, Clusius’ Rariorum Plantarum Historia, Leiden University, Special Collections
Diary by Jan van Hout Leiden University, Special Collections
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by Leonhart Rauwolff (1560 – 1562) and Petrus Cadé (1566), which are now part of the collections in the Naturalis Biodiversity Center here in Leiden. There was also an increasing number of rich plant lovers, who collected as many plants and other naturalia as possible. The water colours painted on the basis of Karel van Sint Omaars’ collection in Flanders were intended for use as examples for woodcuts, and some of the pictures were actually used for that purpose. People started to study plants because of their wonder for the diversity of the natural world – and not just because they were useful.
Not a herb garden, but a Hortus botanicus Leiden University was founded on 8 February 1575, and consisted of four faculties at that time: Theology, Law, Medicine and the Liberal Arts. As early as 1587 the university had been asking Leiden city council to grant them use of ‘the empty place’ behind the University for founding a ‘gardin’. In those days many medicines were made from plants, so it was essential for medical students to study these plants in detail. The resolution was finally passed on 9 February 1590, when the piece of land behind the Witte Nonnenklooster (‘White Nuns Convent’), now the Academy Building, on the Rapenburg, came into the University’s ownership. This piece of land measured 35 by 40 metres (38 by 43 yards), and had to be cultivated from scratch. The first concern was to find someone who knew a lot about plants, and who could also contribute a plant collection. The 16th century
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The Clusius Garden in the Front Garden photo Hortus botanicus Leiden
The first Hortus plan Index Stirpium, Leiden University, Special Collections
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The private gardens of professors such as Justus Lipsius and Pieter Pauw were used for teaching until the Hortus botanicus was ready. Once Clusius and Cluyt got down to work in 1594 the entire garden was laid out and planted within just one season. The garden, like a true Renaissance garden, was divided into four squares (‘quadrae’); each square was subdivided into a number of long, narrow beds (‘areae’), and each bed consisted of numbered small sections (‘areolae’). More than 1,500 of these sections were planted when the garden was laid out, but the garden was nowhere near full. The drawings of this first garden plan have been preserved in Leiden University Library since then, and include a list of the plants in each numbered section. This reveals that there were not only medicinal plants in the garden but anything on which Clusius and Cluyt could lay their hands: not, strictly speaking, a hortus medicus, but a genuine hortus botanicus. Furthermore, when they handed over the land Leiden city council had declared that the garden should also be accessible to visitors from outside of the university. Then, as now, the garden was used for education and research but was also accessible to the general public.
Charles de l’Écluse (Carolus Clusius) Clusius was born in Arras (Atrecht) in 1526. First he studied law and then medicine. This gave him the opportunity to engage in his true passion: botany. He travelled throughout Europe and lived and worked in many different places. He wrote the very first floras, such as those of Spain and Portugal, translated many books, and lived in Vienna from 1573 to 1588, where he designed a garden for Emperor The 16th century
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Carolus Clusius archives Hortus botanicus Leiden
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Maximilian II. He built up a huge personal network, for the exchange of both news and assorted botanical materials. He moved to Leiden in 1593, and became prefect (director) of the new Hortus; he had sent 268 plant seeds, bulbs and tubers for the Hortus during the previous year, 1592. He was closely involved in laying out the Hortus but his right-hand man, Dirck Cluyt, carried out the work and maintained an inventory. Following Cluyt’s death in 1598 Clusius increasingly withdrew from the Hortus and dedicated himself to writing his collected works: Plantarum Rariorum Historia (1601) and Exoticorum Libri Decem (1605). He died in Leiden in 1609, at the age of 83 years.
Dirck Outgaertsz. Cluyt (Theodorus Clutius) We know less about this apothecary. He was born in 1546, and had a large garden and an apothecary’s shop in Delft, called ‘In de Granaetappel’ (in the pomegranate). Progress in planting the new Hortus was somewhat slow after Clusius’ arrival so he was appointed on 8 May 1594, on the condition that he would bring his plant collection with him. Cluyt and Clusius had already corresponded with each other as plantlovers. Their fruitful cooperation is revealed in the work published by Cluyt in 1597: Van de Bijen (‘About Bees’), the first book about beekeeping in the Dutch language; this was written in the form of a dialogue between Mr Cluyt and Mr Clusius. The garden was finished by the autumn of 1594. That winter Cluyt drew a plan of the garden, including lists of plants, the Index Stirpium; he presented this to the curators of Leiden The 16th century
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Tulips Libri Picturati A30.056, Biblioteka Jagiello麓nska, Krak贸w
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University on 8 February 1595. Fortunately he wrote the Latin names of the plants in very legible block letters. We are still working on the translation of these old names into the current scientific names.
Of potatoes, tulips and tomatoes The first collection was a real hotchpotch. Clusius had sent 268 species to the garden in 1592, and brought a lot more with him in 1594. Cluyt also brought along a large number of plants from his own garden. Clusius contributed mostly tubers, bulbs and seeds, because these were easier to transport over long distances. Medicinal plants such as foxglove and mandrake, but not the opium poppy, were included among the 1,585 names on the list compiled in 1594. The list also included many garden plants such as pinks and primulas, culinary herbs such as rosemary and thyme, and an extensive collection of bulbs and tuberous plants such as tulips, and daffodils and hyacinths. Some exotic plants were also named: ginger and sugar cane, and the tomato, tobacco and nasturtium from America. There were almost 60 species in pots, including the prickly pear from Mexico. Did you know there were no potatoes in the Hortus in 1594? Clusius did know about this plant; he had received a drawing of it in 1588. The potato, as Papas americanorum, was included in the list of plants still missing from the collection.
Clusius is reputed to have brought the tulip (Tulipa) to the Netherlands. He certainly did bring a collection with him when he came to the Netherlands from Frankfurt in 1593, but the tulip was already in this country, in a few private gardens. The 16th century
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Tomatoes Libri Picturati A28.080v, Biblioteka Jagiello麓nska, Krak贸w
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Clusius had built up a large collection through his work in Vienna: he had some good contacts in Turkey, where the tulip had been a popular plant for many centuries. Two beds in the Hortus were entirely devoted to the tulip, but there were also rows of them in other beds. An etching dating from 1610 shows a tall fence, put up to protect the valuable tulips against theft. From its early days in the Hortus, the tulip became an important nursery product, giving the famous Bulb Fields of Holland their name. The tomato originates from the Andes, and was already known in Europe in 1544. Many plants from America came to Europe via Spain in the course of the 16th century. At first no-one knew the potential uses of all these new crops, and the first tomatoes were only eaten boiled. The name Pomum amoris means love-apple, and two different colours grew in the Hortus, yellow and red: fructu luteo and fructu phoeniceo.
Potatoe woodcut, Clusius’ Rariorum Plantarum Historia, Leiden University, Special Collections
The 16th century
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The 17th century Laburnum anagyroides
The world as a source of riches
The 17th century
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Cloves Leiden University, Special Collections
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The Netherlands were rich during the 17th century – the ‘Golden Century’. Wealthy citizens liked to show off their valuable collections of naturalia – but they also had to earn their wealth, and trading in spices such as cloves, pepper and cinnamon was one way to do this. After the discovery of the route around the Cape of Good Hope and the discovery of America, explorers were still looking for other sailing routes. The Dutch ship De Liefde (‘Love’) moored in Japan in 1600, and Abel Tasman discovered Tasmania and New Zealand. A supply station, complete with gardens, was set up on the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, to provision ships during the long voyage to Asia. Plants were collected from all these distant shores and taken back to Europe for study and research. Two trading companies were founded: the VOC (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or ‘Dutch East India Company’, 1602) and WIC (West-Indische Compagnie or ‘Dutch West India Company’, 1621).
New gardens, books and herbaria Following the founding of the Hortus in Leiden, botanical gardens were founded in other places in the Netherlands. These were often initially set up as medicinal gardens, but also provided shelter for exotic plants. Henricus Munting founded a botanical garden in Groningen in 1626, which was taken over by the Academy in 1642; the Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam was set up by the city governors in 1638, following an epidemic of the plague; and the Hortus in Utrecht followed in 1639.
The 17th century
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Dracunculus vulgaris Herbarium Gaymans, Naturalis Biodiversity Center
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An impressive series of books was published. These included the Hortus malabaricus (1678 –1693) about the flora of Kerala in India, written by Van Rheede tot Drakenstein in collaboration with the Hortus prefect Hermann; and the Herbarium amboinense about the flora of Ambon, from the pen of Rumphius, but not published until some years after his death. A three-part herbarium was created in Leiden by the apothecary Gaymans in the years 1669 – 1676, and several of the plants were collected in the Hortus botanicus. This herbarium gives an impression of the Hortus collection in the 17th century, and is now kept in the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden.
The garden outgrows it’s boundaries An Ambulacrum was built on the south side of the Hortus way back in 1600, to protect plants originating from warmer climates during our winters. This building could also be used for teaching purposes, and housed a collection of objects from distant lands – possibly the oldest museum collection in the world. The Ambulacrum was first illustrated in prefect Pauw’s catalogue, with a list of plants per bed. Various different editions of this catalogue have been published, and some versions have been preserved in which the lists have been filled in by hand. The ‘north gallery’, with south-facing windows, was built on the northern side of the Hortus in 1609, to replace a wooden winter shelter. It is not completely clear when the first glasshouses were constructed. There was, however, a small building called the Laboratorium Chimicum, and later a Laboratorium Physicum too – which indicated that The 17th century
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Hortus plan with the new gallery, 1601 Catalogue Pieter Pauw, Leiden University, Special Collections
Hortus plan, 1610 engraving, Woudanus, archives Hortus botanicus Leiden
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chemistry and physics, not just botany, were included in the study of medicine.
The Hortus in print A series of four etchings was issued in 1610, showing four university institutions: the Anatomy Theatre, the University Library, the Fencing School and the Hortus botanicus. This illustration of the Hortus played an important role in the later reconstruction of the 1594 Clusius Garden. The many printed catalogues that appeared in the course of this century show that the number of species in the Hortus increased dramatically: from more than 1,000 to more than 3,000 different species, and that the available ground space on the Hortus site soon became too small. The Hortus did expand slightly at the northern end, but despite repeated pleas, more space was not forthcoming. Did you know that the Hortus botanicus usually has a prefect and a ’hortulanus’ (curator)? Clusius was the first prefect. Cluyt, his right-hand man, organised practicalities. The title ‘hortulanus’ first appeared in the archives on 6 May 1667, when Lambert van Carthagen was appointed.
The prefects No fewer than seven prefects managed the Hortus in the course of the 17th century: Pieter Pauw, Aelius and then his son Adolf de Vorst, Florentius Schuyl, Arnold Seyen, Paul Hermann and Petrus Hotton. The 17th century
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Florentius Schuyl, 1667 oil on copper, Frans van Mieris de Oude, Mauritshuis
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Although Florentius Schuyl was only prefect for a short time (1667 – 1669) we still have his printed catalogue dating from 1668, plus some portraits. This catalogue includes the names of 1,821 plants that were included in the Hortus collection; 231 of these were new acquisitions, including some from the Cape of Good Hope. He also compiled a list of the names of plants from the region around Leiden, and an inventory of items in the museum collection in the Ambulacrum, such as coral and a bird of paradise. As far as we know, Florentius Schuyl never worked outside the Netherlands, but he had an extensive knowledge of the flora in and around Leiden. Paul Hermann, prefect from 1680 – 1695, did travel exten sively; he was born in Germany, became a doctor in the service of the Dutch East India Company, and was stationed in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). It was the intention that he should work on medicines for dysentery, smallpox and malaria. He collected herbarium material, which was used by Linnaeus in his Flora zeylanica. In Leiden Hermann continued to expand the collection energetically: there are more than 3,000 different species in his printed catalogue dating from 1687, including plants from the tropics and subtropics. These must have been housed somewhere, possibly in small glasshouses and tubs at the edge of the Hortus, as shown on an etching from 1720. There are new plants from North America (these often had the species name virginicus or virginianus), from South Africa and from the Asian tropics, such as the camphor tree and the cinnamon tree. Hermann’s Paradisus batavus, describing all kinds of exotic plants, did not appear until after his death, in 1698. The 17th century
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Century plant: Agave (‘Aloe’) americana copperplate, Erfgoed Leiden en Omstreken
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Half-hardy plants The century plant (Agave americana) was already in the Hortus in 1602, and was illustrated as Aloe Americana in 1698, when it first flowered here. This plant can flower after 10 or 20 years, its inflorescence growing extremely rapidly. This Mexican species was already growing in the Hortus in Padua in 1561. It has been used for making an alcoholic drink, mescal, for many centuries. This species is now highly invasive in the Mediterranean and in South Africa. Other exotic plants that came to the Hortus during the 17th century included American specimens such as the pineapple, which was mentioned in a catalogue dating from 1641 (probably an edible form without seed that was cultivated in Guadeloupe), and the Cereus cactus from Suriname. A lot of plants came from South Africa too, such as Haemanthus coccineus (Schuyl’s catalogue, 1668) and Zantedeschia ethiopica and Agapanthus umbellatus (Hermann’s catalogue, 1687).
Our oldest tree: the golden chain The golden chain (Laburnum anagyroides) to the right of the entrance, is reputed to be the oldest tree in the Hortus. This species was definitely mentioned in Pauw’s catalogue, published in 1601, but it cannot be found on any pictures of the Hortus.
The 17th century
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Golden chain Libri Picturati, A27.034, Biblioteka Jagiello麓nska, Krak贸w
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The golden chain is not particularly impressive when it is not flowering. It is somewhere between a small tree and a shrub in size. Our centuries-old specimen has survived so long because it has continually been able to produce new shoots from its base. Did you know that a golden chain can live for hundreds of years? It is a small tree or shrub, which can produce new shoots from its base. Most trees do not reach a great age because they produce just one thick trunk, and are therefore more vulnerable, for instance to strong winds.
Golden chain next to the Hortus entrance photo Hortus botanicus Leiden
The 17th century
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The 18th century Liriodendron tulipifera
More and more plants: classification required
The 18th century
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Linnaeus’ System, drawn by Ehret in 1736 Hagströmer Medico-Historical Library, Stockholm
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As more plants and animals from distant lands were dis covered there was an increasing need for some form of classification for all the new species. Latin was still the language of communication in the scientific world, and all plants and animals had one or more names, often in effect providing a short description. For many centuries it had been usual to divide plants into trees and shrubs, tubers and bulbs, medicinal plants and other similarly broad groups. The design of the Clusius Garden in 1594, and herbals such as Dodoens’, reveal that people knew what belonged with what: roses with roses and members of the mint family with each other. In the 17th century the French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort had differentiated between genera and species, which made it easier to classify plants. He classified them on the basis of characteristics of their flowers and fruit.
Linnaeus’ system Carl Linnaeus became famous for classifying the plant kingdom on the basis of the number and position of their stamens and pistils, in other words, characteristics of their flowers. While he was staying in the Netherlands, from 1735 to 1738, he published his Systema Naturae, which was expanded further in 1753 in the Species Plantarum, the basis for plant nomenclature. Within this system each species was given just two names: a genus name and a species name. This nomenclature is still in use, but not the classification; this was very practical because all plants fitted into it, but some ‘natural’ groups, such as the mint family, were divided. It was not until the 19th century, with Darwin’s theory of evolution, The 18th century
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Hortus plan, 1720 Cruquius, archives Hortus botanicus Leiden
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that it became clear how a natural group originates: all members of the mint family are descended from just one common ancestor. Did you know that Linnaeus’ classification was not universally popular? A flower with just one pistil and five stamens was described as one woman in bed with five men, which went too far for some scientists.
The garden grows The Hortus collection was expanded enormously under the leadership of the famous Herman Boerhaave, prefect from 1709 to 1730. He had command of a large network for the exchange of materials; his notes have been preserved as the Index Seminum Satorum. The Hortus has Boerhaave to thank for the tulip tree now growing in the Front Garden. But Boerhaave did not succeed in expanding the Hortus grounds; Cruquius’ etching showing the Hortus from above reveals that it is still the old square, hemmed in by all kinds of buildings, glasshouses and cold-frames. Boerhaave planted some of the Hortus material out onto the Maliebaan, west of the Singel, and in the garden of his country house, Oud Poelgeest. Adriaan van Royen, who succeeded Boerhaave, had more success when it came to expansion: the grounds were extended over the canal to the west in 1736, and a new stone-built Orangery was constructed. This Orangery was built in the years 1744 – 1745 and is still standing. The last remains of the buildings that surrounded the original The 18th century
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Hortus plan, 1739 Van Royen, Prodromus, 1740, archives Hortus botanicus Leiden
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The 18th century
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Pancratium illyricum type, Herbarium Van Royen L0052815, Naturalis Biodiversity Center
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garden disappeared during the construction of the Botanical Laboratory on the Nonnensteeg at the start of the 20th century. The Orangery was designed by the French-born architect Daniel Marot. This housed both the half-hardy plants during the winter and, in the central area, antique statues from the Van Papenbroek collection; these can now be seen in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (National Museum of Antiquities). There was also a collection of naturalia in the west wing. The new section of the garden was laid out with neat beds, in which the plants were organised in accordance with Van Royen’s ideas. There was an arboretum on the west ern side of this whole section, of which the date plum is the only survivor. In this period a semi-circular pond was also dug, a widening of the canal that transects the Hortus.
A famous visitor and his host Linnaeus came to Leiden in 1735 principally to meet the famous doctor Herman Boerhaave, but he also visited the Hortus and spoke to Adriaan van Royen. When designing the garden and while writing his catalogue Florae Leydensis Prodromus, Van Royen made partial use of Linnaeus’ system, but also presented his own ideas. His catalogue contains more than 3,000 plant species, including a few tropical orchids, such as the vanilla orchid.
The 18th century
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Geranium tuberosum Meerburgh L 0548201-418, Naturalis Biodiversity Center
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Adriaan van Royen also created a large herbarium, which is now kept in the Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Many of the plants are decorated with cut-out prints of pots and garlands. He could possibly thank his brother David in part for his success; he was secretary of the College of Curators at Leiden University from 1725 – 1753. His son, Adriaan’s nephew David, succeeded Adriaan as prefect.
An artistic curator Nicolaas Meerburgh worked in the Hortus from 1752 until his death in 1814, and was curator from about 1774. He was a collector and an accurate botanical draughtsman, publishing ‘Afbeeldingen van zeldzame gewassen’ (‘illustrations of rare crops’) in 1775. He drew all kinds of exotic plants, but also a large collection of cranesbills, storksbills and pelargoniums. He later published more illustrated books, including pictures of Rhododendron ponticum – presumably a rare plant in those days but now a highly invasive plant in woodland and on country estates. In 1782 he took the famous botanist Ehrhard on a tour of the Leiden Hortus. Ehrhard was director of the botanical garden in Hannover and was travelling around Europe. He was very enthusiastic about the plants growing in the Hortus, and was impressed by Meerburgh’s knowledge.
The 18th century
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Tulip tree photo Hortus botanicus Leiden
Did you know that botanical drawings are still an important aid for scientists? Whenever a new plant is discovered, the finder may give that plant a scientific name. A description should be published and a herbarium specimen, the ‘type’, should be indicated. The new name and description are presented in a scientific publication, accompanied by an illustration; these days a photo is often used, but you can show the details better in a drawing.
The tulip tree The tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) originates from eastern North America. The leaves have a unique shape, and the flowers look quite like tulips. It is a member of the magnolia family, an ancient plant group. The Hortus specimen was planted sometime between 1710 and 1720: the species is mentioned in Boerhaave’s 1720 catalogue but not in the one dating from 1710. This species first grew in the Hortus in 1685, but that was not the tree that is now standing to the left of the entrance.
The 18th century
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Maidenhair tree (ginkgo) photo Hans Clauzing
The maidenhair tree Our maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba) is one of the oldest specimens in the Netherlands. It is a unique species, which was known in fossilised form but was not discovered as a living plant until the 18th century, in a temple garden in East Asia. It originates from the mountains of eastern China. This tree also has very unusually shaped leaves: fan-shaped, with two lobes. It is a gymnosperm, and the seeds are surrounded by a fleshy layer, like those of the taxus. This is where the similarity to other gymnosperms ends; this species is so unique that it is placed in its own separate order. Because the maidenhair tree is dioecious a number of female branches were grafted to our male tree in 1935. It now produces a lot of seeds every year, but they do not germinate easily. The seeds are edible, but only after they have been cleaned and roasted.
The 18th century
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The 19th century Victoria amazonica
Plants for gardens and glasshouses
The 19th century
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Kebun Raya Bogor archives Hortus botanicus Leiden
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In the 19th century, garden plants started to play an increas ingly important commercial role. ‘Plant hunters’ went on their travels and collected plants from poorly accessible regions, for instance, in the mountains of Asia. Many wellknown garden plants were discovered and introduced into European gardens. New tulip species were collected, and new tulip races were produced by selection and crossing. Long-flowering roses were introduced to the West from China, which led to the development of an extensive assort ment of garden roses that are often still popular today. In the 19th century living plants, not just seeds, bulbs and tubers, could be brought back. The invention of the Wardian case by the plant-lover Dr. Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward made it possible to transport entire living plants by ship. There was a lively exchange of plants between botanical gardens, including those in the tropics. The institute’s Lands Plantentuin (‘the country’s plant garden’) in Buitenzorg (now Kebun Raya Bogor) was set up on Java in 1817, for cultivating and studying tropical crops.
Living plants and dried specimens Botanical gardens also played a role as middle-man for the exchange of exotic plants between plant-lovers and nurseries. Plant catalogues, including those from botanical gardens, listed as many exotic plants as possible, and these were sometimes also for sale. Botanical gardens also supplied all kinds of materials for plant research. Many details were recorded, by using the new microscopes and working very with great precision. The 19th century
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Hortus plan, 1887 archives Hortus botanicus Leiden
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A national herbarium was founded in Brussels in 1829, but had already been moved to Leiden in 1830, where the collections are now part of the Naturalis Biodiversity Centre. From the 17th century onwards contact between the Netherlands and Japan was very close, which meant that the German doctor, Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold, could bring his magnificent collection of living plants, herbarium material, drawings and Japanese objects to Leiden. These can be admired in the Hortus and in other museums in Leiden.
A huge garden in the heart of Leiden The Hortus attained its full size in 1817: from the Academy building westwards as far as the Singel, and southwards right up to the water. The new section was laid out in the English landscape style, which was popular at the time. Many of the oldest trees in the Hortus can now be seen in this part of the garden. But the Hortus was still not big enough to accommodate all of the collections: Hortus plants were cultivated in the ‘Oeconomical Garden’ on the Maliebaan. The southernmost part of the Hortus was taken over for the construction of the Observatory in 1857, which abruptly reduced the ground area of the Hortus. This section was not returned to the Hortus until 2011.
The 19th century
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Gardener with tree fern in front of the Fern house archives Hortus botanicus Leiden
Did you know that a botanical garden is not a park? Although the Hortus is a lovely place to sit or to go for a walk, the plants are actually the most important feature. The collections are not just interesting and pretty to look at for our visitors, but are also frequently used for education and research.
New glasshouses A lot of plants that were not hardy were gradually added to the collections. Back in the first half of the 19th century, a series of small glasshouses were built against the south side of the pre-expansion garden wall. The garden plan dating from 1887 shows just how many new buildings were later constructed to replace these old glasshouses, and to house all the new acquisitions. In 1856 a large cast-iron glasshouse was constructed to the left of the Orangery, followed by a second large glasshouse to the right of the Orangery. The orchid house was constructed in 1861, to house the orchid collection, which by 1862 already consisted of more than 500 different plants. The new Victoria glasshouse followed in 1871; this was a low glasshouse with a pond in the middle, that could be kept warm enough to bring the giant water lily, Victoria amazonica, into flower – which succeeded in 1872. A tree fern house followed in 1877, to house the collection of approximately 300 ferns; then in 1878 a palm-house was constructed for the approxi mately 100 palms in the Front Garden – and this had to be heightened in 1899. A series of nursery glasshouses were constructed parallel to the 5th Binnenvestgracht in 1883, and a smaller glasshouse to accommodate the cactus collection was built in 1887. The 19th century
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Hydrangea ‘Otaksa’ archives Hortus botanicus Leiden
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Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold
Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt
archives Hortus botanicus Leiden
archives Hortus botanicus Leiden
Prefects and other scholars During the turbulent ‘French period’ of Dutch history around the turn of the 19th century the head of the Hortus was a diplomat called Brugmans, who ensured that the Hortus grounds expanded considerably. His successor, Caspar Georg Carl Reinwardt, was prefect from 1823 to 1845. From 1816 onwards he worked on Java in service of the Netherlands government; he founded the ’s Lands Plantentuin (‘the country’s plant garden’ (Hortus Bogoriensis, now Kebun Raya Bogor) and worked as its director until 1822. He had an extensive knowledge of plants, which he collected on a number of different tropical islands. Just as interim director Georg Sandifort did, he brought about a huge increase in the number of plants in the Hortus.
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Hortulanus Witte in his cactus house archives Hortus botanicus Leiden
The 1851 catalogue lists 5,100 species and varieties, including a great deal of material from Australia and Japan – the latter thanks to the collecting activities of Von Siebold. He founded the ‘Koninklijke Nederlandsche Maatschappij tot aanmoediging van den Tuinbouw’ (‘royal Dutch society for the promo tion of horticulture’) in 1842, together with the director of the National Herbarium, to enable the import as many exotic plants as possible into the Netherlands.
A great hortulanus The best known 19th century curator was Heinrich Witte, who ruled over the garden and glasshouses from 1855 to 1898. Cooperation between him and the prefects De Vriese and Suringar was excellent, and he managed the construction and design of a large number of glasshouses. Witte put together a written catalogue of the Hortus between 1859 and 1860, and published printed catalogues of the palm, orchid and bromeliad collections, his favourite plants. He also frequently studied plants outside the Hortus, and wrote on a wide number of botanical subjects in various journals. Witte played an important role in the exchange of plants with other botanical gardens, and in buying plants that could not be obtained via exchange. He was followed by his son Eduard Theodoor Witte in 1898.
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The 19th-century Victoria house
The Giant waterlily (Victoria amazonica)
archives Hortus botanicus Leiden
archives Hortus botanicus Leiden
Japanese elm leaves (Zelkova serrata) photo Hortus botanicus Leiden
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A plant with its own glasshouse One of the plants that most captures the imagination is the giant water lily (Victoria amazonica), described in 1832 as Euryale amazonica. Efforts were made to name this spectacular species after Queen Victoria in 1839 (‘Victoria regina’) – but once officially published the name of a species cannot be changed on a whim. This giant water lily flowers best in a heated pool, and it is grown from seed every year – so it is actually the largest annual in our collection. The flower opens towards evening, and during the first night it is white and has a delicious pineapple scent; by the second night the flower is pink and scentless. The plant will flower frequently in a fine, bright summer. The huge leaves can support a baby – though here in the Hortus we do always place a support underneath the leaf. As soon as this plant arrived in any botanical garden in Europe a special glasshouse would be built. It came into flower in the Hortus Leiden for the first time in 1872, in its very own Victoria Glasshouse.
An elm species from Japan The Japanese elm (Zelkova serrata) was introduced to the Netherlands from Japan by Von Siebold around 1830. There are two specimens in the Hortus: one in the centre of the Von Siebold Memorial Garden and one at the end of the path from the Orangery to the Garden House. Our specimens are the first to be found outside Japan. The 19th century
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The 20th century Amorphophallus titanum
The plant as an individual
The 20th century
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Expedition in Kalimantan (Borneo) photo Peter Hovenkamp
The first collection registration card, 1954 archives Hortus botanicus Leiden
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Although Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution was based on the premise that evolution is only possible if there is variety within a species, up until the 20th century it was generally considered sufficient to have just one specimen of each species in the collection. Hortus catalogues had become lists of the species present in the Hortus. The concept that it was necessary to have more individual specimens in order to gain a correct image of each species, and for the purposes of research into the characteristics of each species, was put into practice in the 20th century. In order to do this, each individual specimen rather than each species had to be registered separately. The appointment of the ‘systematicus’ Van Hattum in 1953 saw the introduction of the accession number: each woody plant or perennial was given a unique registration number plus its own card in a steadily increasing number of card files. Digitalisation of the collection did not begin until the 1990s – initially on a large central computer at the university, but soon on a PC. Agreements were formulated, in cooperation with other botanical gardens in the Netherlands, as to which source data would be registered for each accession – allowing plants found at different locations to be compared with each other. Expeditions were organised to collect plants of known wild origin: often just herbarium material but sometimes living material that could be further cultivated in the Hortus. There has always been a close bond between the National Herbarium in Leiden and the Hortus. Most of the new acquisitions for the Hortus were plants for research, and were not intended to expand nurseries’ collections. A great deal of new material was also acquired by exchange with other botanical gardens. The 20th century
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The Japanese garden photo Hans Clauzing
Did you know that there are thousands of cards and tens of thousands of records of individual data from living (and dead) plants in the Hortus collection?
Digging up the garden Even though the size of the garden has remained almost constant for more than 100 years, a lot of changes have been made during this period. In 1932 a small area from outside the garden, on the 5th Binnenvestgracht, was integrated into the Hortus in order to lay out the Clusius garden. The Hortus nursery is located there now, cultivating plants for various purposes including research. During the 1970s there were plans to relocate the Hortus to the Leeuwenhoek, a much larger piece of land on the west side of the A44 motorway, where there would be room for far more plants and for large research glasshouses. This plan was turned down in 1975 because of the cost – in retrospect we are pleased about this; sometimes it is tricky to make the most of the available space, but the oldest Hortus in the Netherlands is still in its original place in the very heart of Leiden. And to this day it has been part of Leiden University.
Utilizing every inch All of the individual glasshouses, mostly dating from the 19th century, have been replaced by one single complex of tropical glasshouses, which was completed in 1938. This created space in the old landscape garden, in which a Rosarium, The 20th century
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Design for the new greenhouse complex archives Hortus botanicus Leiden
The new greenhouse complex photo Cunie Sleijpen
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a Herb Garden and a Systematic Garden were planted. The Front Garden was redesigned a few times following the felling of a famous, but sadly deceased, copper beech (1815 – 1987), and a Fern Garden was laid out on the Bolwerk in 1993. The Von Siebold Memorial Garden, designed by the Japanese Garden designer Nakamura, was laid out around the historic Japanese elm in 1990 to mark the 400th anniversary of the Hortus botanicus Leiden. Did you know that the gravel in our Japanese Garden represents water? In the karesansui style of gardening gravel is used in place of water. Here it represents the water of the Main that flows through Von Siebold’s birthplace Würzburg and used to flow out into the sea via the Rhine, close to Leiden, where he lived. You symbolically wet your feet here by walking on the gravel.
Working on living and dead collections A productive duo: Prof. L.G.M. Baas Becking, prefect from 1931 to 1945, and H. Veendorp, curator from 1931 to 1963, engrossed themselves in the history of the Hortus and wrote a book about it in English: Hortus Academicus Lugduno Batavus 1587 – 1937. New research has revealed that the Hortus was not actually founded until 1590, and a few other details in this book also turned out to be untrue. It does, however, have so many wonderful qualities that it was published in facsimile in 1990 to mark the 400th anniversary of the Hortus. Veendorp and Baas Becking studied documentation kept in the University Library concerning the first planting of the Hortus in 1594, and used this to plant the Clusius Garden, The 20th century
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Research collection in the greenhouses photo Wim Sonius
a reconstruction that was situated outside the Hortus from 1933 to 2009; it was not until 2009 that the reconstruction was returned to its original spot in the Front Garden, behind the Academy building. They took almost the entire garden in hand, and started on plans for a new Herb Garden, Systematic Garden, Rosarium and Front Garden, part of which were only laid out after the departure of Baas Becking in 1945. C.J.J.G. Van Steenis archives Naturalis Biodiversity Center
One professor and his pupils Botanist C.J.J.G. van Steenis became a professor in Leiden in 1951 after having lived in the tropics for many years, and was also the director of the National Herbarium in Leiden for a few years. He set up the foundation Flora Malesiana, with the aim of describing all the plants in Southeast Asia and making the information available to a wide public. Plant-collecting expeditions were undertaken in order to study the flora of Southeast Asia, and even today herbarium staff still bring living plants to the Hortus for study purposes. The Hortus acquired a large number of the study collections in the glasshouses thanks to Van Steenis’ students. The university building on the Einsteinweg, which until recently housed the herbarium, is named after Van Steenis. The 20th century
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Frangipani (Plumeria acuminata) photo Wim Sonius
Bulbophyllum breimerianum photo Jan Meijvogel
Plants from the tropics In order to study plants it is vital to know to which species they belong – and the basis for this naming is laid down by botanists engaged in plant systematics. Staff at the Leiden herbarium (which is now part of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center) occupy themselves with this task, and reference specimens (‘types’) are carefully preserved in herbaria all over the world. During the 20th century people increasingly realised that there is actually a great deal of variety within each plant species, and that a list of the species present in the Hortus is not sufficient for some kinds of research, for biogeography for instance. In order to have a full picture of the characteristics of each species it is important to study as many specimens with as diverse origins as possible. Precise details of where each accession comes from should be recorded.
Large collections, new species The tropical glasshouses contain a huge collection of tropical orchids from Southeast Asia. These often have to be cultivated for many years before a specimen flowers and it becomes apparent to which species it belongs – in orchids that can only be deduced from the flower. For instance, a specimen of Bulbophyllum was collected in Borneo in 1996, and specialists suspected that it was a new species. When that was proved to be the case it was named Bulbophyllum breimerianum in 2007, after the rector of the university at that time. The person who discovers a new species may think up a name for it. The 20th century
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Crozier in the tropical greenhouse photo Hortus botanicus Leiden
There is a large collection of tropical ferns in the glasshouses, belonging to families on which extensive research has been carried out for the Flora Malesiana project. This research also yielded new species, such as Pyrrosia kinabaluensis, related to the staghorn ferns. In the case of ferns you some足 times have to study characteristics that can only be seen on living material.
Pyrrosia kinabaluensis drawing by Joop Wessendorp, archives Naturalis Biodiversity Center
The 20th century
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The 21st century Nepenthes
Cooperation and conservation
The 21st century
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Jade vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys) photo Art Vogel
New forms of communication have enabled varied and extensive networking, and scientists can now share vast quantities of knowledge. The results of molecular (‘DNA’) research, aided by modern communication, have led to a new classification of the plant kingdom. It is now also possible to search through existing banks of digital knowledge to detect broad patterns, such as the distribution of plant species throughout the world (biogeography). An increasing amount of information is becoming available about the level to which plants and animals, and their habitat, are being threatened. This has led to conventions for the protection of biodiversity, such as CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) and CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity).
National and international The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) maintains information about the degree to which species of plants and animals are being threatened. Armed with this information, botanical gardens can play a modest role in the maintenance of biodiversity. Not only by sharing the wonder for the natural world with our visitors, but also by cultivating severely endangered species. Botanical gardens from all over the world are united in networks such as the de BGCI (Botanic Gardens Conservation International). The botanical gardens of the Netherlands have collectively managed the National Plant collection since 1988. The Nederlandse Vereniging van Botanische Tuinen (NVBT) (‘Netherlands society of botanical gardens’) was The 21st century
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View towards the tropical greenhouses photo Wim Sonius
founded in 1998 and has more than 20 members. The Hortus botanicus Leiden is a member of the Nederlandse Museum vereniging (NMV) (‘Netherlands museums association’) and has been a registered museum since 2003. Throughout its existence the Hortus botanicus Leiden has been part of Leiden University. Nowadays it is incorporated in the Faculty of Science. The Hortus often cooperates with other institutes of the Faculty, i.e. in matters of research and education.
A garden is never finished The turn of the century was celebrated by opening a new glasshouse, the Winter Garden; this is an extension of the winter storage facilities for half-hardy plants and also incorporates a new entrance, the Hortus shop, the Grand Café Clusius and a meeting room, called the Garden Room. The Orangery and the tropical glasshouses were sustainably renovated. A lot of changes have been made to the gardens, too. The new Systematic Garden was opened in 2005, displaying plants according to the recently adapted scientific classification. In 2009 the reconstruction of the 1594 Clusius Garden as laid out in the Front Garden, on the original site. In 2011 the area around the Observatory, which had been taken away in 1858, was returned to the Hortus’ own management. New, predominantly Asian, plants were planted and six new biotope containers were sited here. The newest part of the garden is the Chinese Herb Garden on the Singel, strengthening our focus on Asian plants.
The 21st century
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The Winter Garden and the Systematic Garden photos Cunie Sleijpen
Volunteer at work photo Hanneke Jelles
More and more people The world is becoming smaller for the plant-lover, not only because the locations where plants can grow in the wild are shrinking to a worrying extent, but also because of increasing mobility. More people can experience the riches of plants in the wild, just at the time that biodiversity is declining. We have an increasing number of visitors – particularly those from urban areas, for whom the Hortus is a green oasis – and they want to know more about plants. A rise in visitor numbers has led to a shift in the distribution of staff: the Hortus no longer just requires people to care for the plants but also for new tasks such as education, marketing and PR. Many school children and students learn about our plants and take part in education and research, with the support of botanists, plant-care personnel and collection managers. Did you know that the Hortus botanicus is run by the equivalent of just 15 full-time personnel, with the assistance of a large pool of volunteers? The garden and glasshouse plants require the care of fewer people than in the past. Technical aids are becoming increasingly important in the upkeep of the garden and management of the collections. Volunteers provide an indispensable contribution at many points in the Hortus. Did you know that botanic gardens all over the world contribute to the protection of threatened plant species? This is usually achieved via cultivation and propagation in gardens or glasshouses of materials collected in the wild (ex-situ protection). The 21st century
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Dwarf cornel or bunchberry photo Rogier van Vugt
More new plants Despite the digitalisation of society, living collections continue to be vitally important. Visitors want to experience living plants, and a lot of research requires living material: for taxonomical research (comparing existing species and describing new species), research into plant composition (looking for new usable constituents) and for DNA research. The Hortus contributes on a small scale to ex-situ conserva tion of plants that are threatened in their natural habitat. Examples include the northern bunchberry (Cornus suecica), which is now found in just one place in the Netherlands, and rare pitcher plants such as Nepenthes bokorensis, which is found on just one mountain in Cambodia, Mount Bokor. Another severely threatened species is the Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis), which was discovered in the Blue Mountains, less than 150 km (93 miles) from Sydney, in 1994. Until then this plant family had been known only in a fossilised form. This conifer belonging to the monkey puzzle tree family has been cultivated in botanical gardens and private gardens since 2006. Revenue from sales is being used in Australia to protect the only population of this species. The related Agathis and Araucaria were already part of the Hortus collection. A number of Dutch biotopes are displayed in the biotope containers in the Observatory grounds, showing the plants that grow naturally in woods, fens, dunes and the unique zinc-flora of Zuid-Limburg, in the south of the Netherlands.
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The Japanese Garden and the Pond photos Cunie Sleijpen
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Colophon Text G.A. van Uffelen Editor P.J.A. KeĂ&#x;ler English translation Medilingua, Leiden Design DoubleMatured, Leiden Print Deltabach, Nieuw-Vennep Hortus botanicus Leiden Visiting address: Rapenburg 73 Leiden Postal address: Postbus 9500, 2300 RA Leiden Office: 5e Binnenvestgracht 8 Leiden Email: hortus@hortus.leidenuniv.nl Webpage: www.hortusleiden.nl Phone: +31-71-5277249 / 5144 Realized together with the faculty of Science, Leiden University. www.science.leidenuniv.nl
We thank the Stichting Vrienden van de Leidse Hortus (Friends of the garden) for their support. www.hortusleiden.nl/index.php/vrienden
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Plants in the tropical greenhouse photo Wim Sonius
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Bezoekerscentrum Visitor centre Sterrewachttuin Observatory garden
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voorjaar/spring 2015 Chinese kruidentuin Chinese herb garden
Talcott huisje house Groentetuin Vegetable garden
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Plan Hortus botanicus Leiden 2015
Victoriakas Victoria house
Hoge Kas High Glasshouse P5
Von Siebold gedenktuin memorial garden P4
Oranjerie Orangery Niet toegankelijk/ closed
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Grand CafĂŠ Clusius
Academiegebouw Academy Building
In 2015 the Hortus botanicus Leiden celebrates its 425th anniversary. For the festive jubilee programme see www.hortusleiden.nl