Bogor garden striving to blosom

JAKARTA (JP): The management of the Bogor Botanical Garden announced that it is determined to continue programs for preserving its collection of rare plants and also developing tourism.

Chief of science department of the garden Sukendar said yesterday they have collected over 4,000 rare plants from all over Indonesia as well as from a number of other countries.

He also said that the Bogor Botanical Garden is frequently used as research center by college students and other research institutions.

Sukendar said to Antara that the garden has taken steps to increase its collection by exploring for various scientific tropical plants all over Indonesia and also hopes house them in a new nursery.

The garden's collection includes various medicinal plants, ornamental plants and fruit trees.

One of its well-known collections is Victoria amanzini Ca called giant lotus with leaves reaching around 1.5 meters in diameter. The wide variety of collections makes the garden attractive enough to be a major tourist site, feels Sukendar.

Another attraction is the giant orchid called Granntophylum from Kalimantan, which has 1.5 meter-long tendrils and can produce around 100 flowers.

The garden also has the oldest palm tree from West Africa which was transported here in 1848. It is reportedly the origin of all palm trees in Southeast Asia.

"The garden's technical unit has also conducted a number of cooperation programs by exchanging plants with other gardens from other countries," Sukendar said. (yns)