Botanic Garden of the Jagiellonian University

The Botanic Garden is one of the departments of the Institute of Botany, at the Jagiellonian University. The staff consists of research workers, technicians, gardeners and servicemen. The research work is closely connected to the scientific programme of the Institute and comprises taxonomy, plant geography, ecology, history of botany, and studies on protected and endangered plants, especially from the territory of the Carpathians. However, the didactic activity remains the basic function of the Garden. There are lectures and classes prepared for students of the University and other academic schools as well as for pupils from primary and secondary schools.

The territory of the Botanic Garden is divided into several sections. The main aim of the plant taxonomy section is to show natural relations among plant species and the general divisions of the plant kingdom. The group of protected and endangered plants of Polish flora includes plant species which need special protection in natural conditions. The section on genetics and variability shows chosen problems from this branch of botany, e.g. Mendel's laws, hybridisation, the ways in which new species or forms originate in nature, etc.

The flower ecology section presents the process of flower pollination and the adaptation of flowers to different pollinators. The morphological and ecological section includes various phenomena connected with seed dispersal and shows different morphological features which are the result of adaptation to environmental conditions. Visitors always show great interest in the section on medicinal plants - there are also other useful plants such as vegetables, fruits, seasoning herbs, fibre crops, dyeing and honey-yielding plants. The alpine gardens, imitating high mountain conditions, are devoted to the preservation of mountain plants. The water plants of temperate regions, mainly native, are grown in artificial lakes and pools. The Arboretum housing collection of trees and shrubs covers the largest area. It is partly arranged as a landscape park, but there are geographical groups representing trees from East Asia or Northern America, and ornamental groups, e.g. the collection of lilacs. Ornamental plants supplement and increase the aesthetic value of the specialist collections.

The collection of tropical plants is kept in three glasshouses:

• "Victoria", in existence from the very beginning of the Garden. It is named after the water plant that grows in the pond in the hothouse;

• "Holenderka (Dutch)", a small glasshouse especially designed for epiphytic plants, orchids, and other rare plants which should be kept out of public reach (this glasshouse is closed for visitors);

• "Jubilee", consisting of a palm house and a long hothouse, divided into several compartments for different groups of plants (the name commemorates the 600th anniversary of the Jagiellonian University in 1964, when the glasshouse was opened).

Webpage: https://ogrod.uj.edu.pl