This is the famous and the most notable Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden and this is commonly known as the Botanic Garden. The Garden is situated on the western bank of River Ganges based in Shibpur. The Garden came into being in the year 1787 and the proposal was given by Colonel Alexander Kyd under the instruction of the Governor General of the time Lord Cornwallis. The total area of the Garden is 273 acres and the place was popular as the Company Garden at the time. Once you visit the place you can find the congregation of 12000 living and perennial species of plants and here you can see a collection of dried out plants and these have been taken from various parts of the world.
However, the remarkable thing about the Botanical Garden is the wide spread banyan tree and this one is known as “The Great Banyan Tree” and this forms the second massive canopy in the entire world. As part of the Garden you have varies orchids and colourful floral variations. You can go for boating at the garden lake and you can even sit at the library to read about the world of the greens. At the library you get to have several books on botany. This is the place where you are made to feel good as you get the chance to view some of the rare trees on earth.
The Location of the Botanical Garden
This is the largest and the most interesting Botanical Garden of Asia. The Garden stands at Shibpur of West Bengal a state of India. The Garden is made to nestle on the Howrah part of River Hooghly and the location is around 12 kilometres on the western part of the Kolkata City Centre.
The Historicity of the Botanical Garden
The Garden was also known by the name of East India Company’s Garden and commonly it was known as the ‘Company Bagan’. After the time when India became independent the Garden assumed the name of ‘Indian Botanic Garden’. This happened in the year 1950. The Garden was brought under the management of the Botanical Survey of India and the date was 1st January 1963. The Great Banyan Tree of the Botanical Garden is 250 years old and the scientific name of the same is Ficus Bengalensis. No one knows who panted the tree. However, the tree witnessed the rages of the two devastating cyclones of 1864 and 1867. This ruined some of the main branches of the tree and there were signs of fungus attack. The tree itself is a forest and you would find the aerial roots growing from the branches and touching the ground. In fact, the tree now stands straight without the main trunk. The trunk got decayed and it was removed in the year 1925.
At the Garden you will find trees brought from places like Java, Brazil, Nepal, Malaysia, Sicily, Sumatra and the rest. As part of the Garden you will also find Cuban Palms, mango trees, mahogany trees, tamarind trees, banyan trees, and coconut trees brought from Sicily, multi-coloured bamboo trees, the mad tree, the aquatic plants and the orchids. You even have the best collection of the branching palm trees and these have been brought from Brazil and there is even the variety of cacti. Here at Botanical Garden you find the perfect collection of bamboos, bougainvillea, pandanus, citrus, water lily, jasmine, creepers, ferns, hibiscus, ficus and you even have the best range of floriculture and arboriculture shrubs and plants.
The Garden has some of the notable vegetations like Bread Fruit Tree, Double Coconut, Giant Water Lilies, Krishnabot, and the exemplary Shivalinga Tree. There are more green attractions in line and it would be hard for you to view the entire garden in just one day.