The Bogor Botanic Garden, Indonesia''s first and foremost botanical garden, is 87
hectares of beautifully kept trees,
plants flowers, lawns and ponds within a
busy expanding city of 300,000 people. It is also a world famous institution for
research and conservation that has developed over many years and is continuing
to do so. The garden is an important part of Bogor city providing not only
employment but a large recreational area for local residents, visitors from
Jakarta and many passing tourists.The founder of ''s Lands Plantentuin, the name given to the Garden by
the Dutch, was Casper Georg Carl Reinwardt, a German who moved to Amsterdam, The
Netherlands, and studied natural sciences, specializing in botany and chemistry.
In 1817, at the age of 44, Reinwardt was appointed to the position of
Director in agricultural business, arts and sciences on Java and neighboring
islands. He was interested in investigating plants which were widely used by the
Javanese for domestic and medicinal purposes. Reinwardt decided to gather all
these plants in a botanic garden in Bogor, at that time called Buitenzorg
(meaning ''Without a Care''). This also provided an opportunity to collect plants
and seeds from other parts of the Archipelago and the Botanic Garden would
eventually make Bogor a centre for the promotion of agriculture and horticulture
in Indonesia. On May 18, 1817, 47 hectares of the grounds bordering the palace were
established as a Botanic Garden. Reinwardt became the first director from 1817
to 1822, during which time approximately 900 living plants were introduced to
the Garden.
Prior to this, Sir Stamford Raffles had been Governor of Java from 1811 to
1816 and during his residence in Buitenzorg attempted to lay out the Palace
grounds as an English-style landscaped garden. He even brought in two gardens
from Kew in London, UK. The monument he erected in memory of his wife, Lady
Olivia Marianne, who died in 1814, can be seen in the Garden. In 1830, Johannes Elias Teysmann, a Dutch gardener, became curator of Bogor
Botanic Garden and spent more than 50 years developing the Garden. Seven years
later Justus Karl Hasskarl was appointed his assistant curator and convinced the
director to re-arrange the plantings in the Garden by taxonomic families. This
was a major undertaking as a huge part of the collection had to be transplanted.
Some trees were too large to be moved as can be seen today by the date of
planting shown on read labels.
Hasskarl proposed starting a library, which was opened in 1842 as the
Bibliotheca Bogoriensis, and constructing a separate building for the Herbarium
Bogoriense, which was opened in 1844.
In 1844 he wrote the second catalogue of plants which listed more than 2800
species.
Over many years Teysmann brought thousands of plants into Bogor from his
travels throughout the Archipelago. The striking flame tree, Delonix
regia (Leg.) which is now found all over Indonesia was introduced by
Teysmann in 1848 from Singapore (flowers September until January).
In 1848 the Garden received four seeds from West Africa of the oil palm,
Elaeis guineensis (Arec.). These were the first specimens to be
introduced to Indonesia. Unfortunately the last of the original trees died in
1993 but offspring of these mother plants can be found all over South East Asia.
Palm oil is of major economic importance as a food source and has useful fibres
for ropes, matting and broom heads.
Teysmann was also remarkable for discovering the importance of cassava,
Manihot esculenta, as an alternative food source between rice harvests or
when harvests failed. It was originally found in Batam, an island off Sumatra,
growing as a hedge, and is know grown all over Indonesia under many different
local names such as ubi kayu, singkong, and ubi perancis.
The root tuber is a highly versatile food source and the leaves which contain
cyanidey edible when cooked.
Between 1852 and 1854 the Garden played an important role in the introduction
of quinine to Java, an extract used for treating malaria. Quinine is produced
from the bark of the Cinchona (Rub.) tree, originally from Peru.
In recognition of all Teysmann''s work in the Garden a memorial pillar of
polished granite was placed in Taman Teysmann (Teysmann''s Garden) and four
species of teak and verbenas, in the Genus Teijsmaniodendron were named
after him.
R.H.C.C. Scheffer, the third director of the Garden from 1869 to 1880, was
very interested in the development of agriculture and used the garden as a tool
for scientific research. Stock was grown in the Garden and seeds and cuttings
distributed all over the country of useful plants such as Australian
Eucalyptus species, tobacco, maize and Liberian coffee.
In 1880, Dr. Melchior Treub became director of the Garden. The next 30 years
were a decisive period for the Garden and all scientific institutions associated
with it. Under Treub''s leadership, fundamental research was successfully
completed on diseased that threatened plants of economic importance, such as the
coffee-leaf disease caused by a parasitic fungus and the sereh-disease that
affected sugarcane.
In 1884, an old Hospital ward was fitted up as a small laboratory for
visitors. Treub''s philosophy was to conduct scientific research to benefit both
agriculture and industry.
Trueb realised the need to establish world-wide recognition for the Bogor
Botanic Garden as a scientific institution and a benefactor of local and
European agriculture.
In 1892 the Garden was expanded in size to 60 hectares with the addition of
the island between the two arms of the Ciliwung river. During the next 40 years there were two world wars, a world-wide economic
crisis and Indonesia''s struggle for independence. Between 1900 and 1930 the
directors of the Garden had few financial problems because of the relatively
strong economic position of the Dutch-Indies. The laboratory attracted
increasing numbers of visiting scientists and this success resulted in the
opening of the Treub laboratory in 1914.
By 1927, so many plants had been introduced that there was a shortage of land
so an area to the east of the Ciliwung river was added. The southern part of
this was planted similar to the main Garden, the rest laid out as large lawns,
avenues, ponds, a glasshouse (orchid house) and the teahouse, Café Botanicus.
Princess Astrid of Belgium visited the Garden with Prince Leopold on their
honeymoon in 1928 and an avenue of Agathis dammara (Arauc.) trees and red
and yellow Canna hybrida (Canna.) with black leaves (colours of the
Belgian flag) was planted in her honour in the new part of the Garden. The
Victoria Pond at the southern end of the Astrid Avenue was made following their
visit.
The most complete catalogue of the Garden "An Alphabetical List of Plants
Cultivated in the Botanic Garden, Buitenzorg" was produced by Dakkus in
1930. (This catalogue was updated in 1957 and 1963.)
Economic recession affected the Garden from 1930. Funds decreased resulting
in a reduction of scientific staff, research and upkeep of the Garden.
The Dutch East-Indies declared was on Japan on 8 December 1941. In March 1942
the Japanese marched into Bogor and a year later took over directorship of both
the Garden and the Herbarium. Prof. T. Nakai, a Japanese botanist, was appointed
director of the Botanic Garden and Kanehira, another Japanese botanist, head of
the Herbarium. These two men strove to protect the Garden and the Herbarium from
Japanese soldiers who were intent on cutting and using the trees from the Garden
for timber during the invasion. It was under their supervision that the Garden
was named Shokubutsuen (Botanic Garden).
During the Second World War the Garden was closed and at the end of the war
if suffered greatly from negl