Hortus Botanicus
Hortus Botanicus is the name of botanical gardens in several cities, including Amsterdam and Leiden.
One of the oldest in the world, it was founded in 1638 by the city of Amsterdam to serves as herb garden for doctors and apothecaries. It contains more than six thousand tropical and indigenous trees and plants, including a 2000-year old agave cactus. The monumental Palm House dates from 1912 and is renown for its collection of cycas palms.
Hortus Botanicus's collection was amassed during the 17th century through plants and seeds brought back by traders of the East India Company (VOC) for use as medicines. A single coffee plant, Coffea arabica, in Hortus's collection served as the parent for the entire coffee culture in Central and South America.
Likewise, two small potted oil palms brought back by the VOC from Mauritius, an island off the west coast of Africa, produced seeds after six years, and these were propagated throughout all of Southeast Asia, becoming a major source of revenue in the Dutch colony of Indonesia.
Recent additions to Hortus include a huge hothouse, which incorporates three different tropical climates.
Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam
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