Year: 2013Page 6 of 21
As you walk in to this house you are greeted by the heat and humidity of a South American rainforest, one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet.
Whilst the tropical plants in this house may be unfamiliar, the products produced from them are part of your daily life.
Get transported back through time to when dinosaurs ruled the earth. The ferns, horsetails, mosses, liverworts and conifers on display in this house are among the most ancient groups of plants having been around for over 350 million years.
Here you will find plants from the opposite ends of the evolutionary scale. At the one end we have the primitive cycads, whilst at the other are orchids, some of the most sophisticated groups of plants.
This is the oldest of the glasshouses, built in 1834, at the time it was largest of its kind in Britain.
The temperate palm house was built in 1858 by Robert Matheson with a grant of £6,000 from Parliament. At 21.95m (72ft) tall this is the tallest glasshouse in the UK, and is one of the tallest classic palm houses in the world.
If you follow the paths through the glasshouses until you can go no further then look up, you will see thick, green stems many meters long, and flowers…
We have recently databased and imaged selected genera of British Algae held in the herbarium as part of a project run by the Natural History Museum, London. The…
If you were in the Garden last week you would have heard the sound of the arboretum team dismantling a large sweet chestnut. It is always a great…
We are enjoying the autumn colour here at the botanic gardens but the leaves are now falling thick and fast. We do not want to miss out on…
The herbarium at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is an archive of preserved plants that is also a hive of activity; botanists busying themselves describing new species or…
Not all deciduous leaf, autumn colours are fiery shades. The foliage on the Euonymus sieboldianus growing in the glasshouse border is virtually translucent. Just as rewarding in the…
A new RBGE publication documents, and pays belated tribute, to a pair of intrepid and enterprising botanists. The latest in a series of studies by Henry Noltie on…
The Queen Mother’s Memorial Garden, designed by architect Lachlan Stewart, was opened in July 2006 by members of the Royal Family including Her Majesty The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay.
The fossil of Pitys withamii was found at Craigleith Quarry between 1835 and 1865, where it would have formed part of the swamp forests which occurred in this area 320-340 million years ago.
The plants on this terrace represent one of the largest collections of cultivated Chilean plants, many of which have been collected by members of staff from RBGE during expeditions to Chile.
This area of the garden is planted with native species which were, and still are, used by Scots. Not all of them are still used today, as unfortunately some uses have passed out of memory. Others are still used to produce popular foods, drinks and other products.
Since 1956 RBGE has been an official weather station for the Meteorological Office, with observations being made at 9am everyday.
The study of recurring seasonal events, such as flowering and leaf-fall in plants, or hibernation in animals, is known as phenology.
The Botanics captures the imagination of everyone who visits and is world renowned for its horticultural excellence. Over 70 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds provide a tranquil haven just one mile from the city centre.