Durban Botanic Gardens

Plant Collection

Orchids, Palms and Cycads are the main collections of the Gardens, and the focus of present and forthcoming collection efforts. It is our intention to maintain the cosmopolitan flavour of our cycad collection, which is currently ranked among the top ten botanical garden cycad collections in the world.

Palm and orchid collections will increasingly focus on documented accessions of African species. World-wide, botanic gardens are changing, as threats to plants and ecosystems become more grave. Ironically, this makes it an exciting time for botanic gardens, as their multiple possible roles in conservation and education are recognised by governments and international agencies.

Fundamental to our participation in these new challenges, is the development of conservation-significant plant collections, and professional management of these collections. Unless our collections are curated comparably with those of the world's top gardens, then attempts to increase their educational and scientific value are diminished.

Our Orchid collection began in 1931. Mr. Ernest Thorp started the collection while he was a student. It consisted of two dozen orchids imported from India.

Much later the then Curator, Mr. Frank Thorns and his orchid students bought 24 Cattleya mendellii and 25 Cattleya gaskelliana orchids from the Port Elizabeth Parks Department. This increased the collection to 74 orchids. Ernest Thorp was approached by Douglas Mackeurtan, who wanted to learn the art of orchid culture, and between them they built up the collection to some 300 plants. In 1945 this collection was bequeathed to Ernest Thorp. During the 1950's and 60's there was an orchid explosion in the USA due to the advent of tissue culture.

A few local orchid collectors got together and each purchased a particular orchid hybrid for mutual exchange amongst themselves.

Thus by 1960 the Durban Botanic Gardens collection was substantial and in 1962 the Ernest Thorp Orchid House was opened.

The best flowering times for orchids are spring and autumn..... Bromeliads are used to augment the absence of orchids during the non-flowering times.
There is a separate Species Orchid House for species orchids, which have smaller blooms but have the perfume that the other hybridized orchids lack

The bromeliads in the Durban Botanic Gardens are one of the main collections of the Gardens. Durban having a hot humid climate is ideal for a number of these plants.

"Bromeliads" is simply a shortening of the scientific name Bromeliaceae, the Pineapple family.
It is not possible to say who first coined the word "Bromeliad" but it was probably some fairly recent botanist or horticulturist who was tired of having to use the phrase "species of Bromeliaceae". It was Linnaeus who established the genus Bromelia in 1754. The name was taken from the family name of Olof Bromelius, a Swedish botanist.

Bromeliads previously went by the Indian name of Karatas.

A peculiarity of the family is its limited distribution. All "Broms" are native to the Americas. Their occurrence is limited by climate conditions- temperature being a main factor.

Tillandsias have the widest distribution. Many species are inhabitants of the tropical rain forests. These cover vast expanses of the lower Amazon basin. The a large part of the forest floor is water- covered during March and April when the rivers reach flood stages. The Bromeliads have taken to the trees and most of the epiphytic species are found here.
Most of the Broms which grow in the rain forest are the soft-leaved unarmed with thorns or scales. Most have the magnificently coloured inflorescences. Their light requirements are comparatively low as they are situated below shading leaf-crowns and foliage masses.

Bromeliads growing in regions with limited rainfall and thorny bush growth, have stiff, well-armoured leaves e.g. Aechmeas and Ananas.

These plants are pronounced sun lovers, are drought- resistant and are for the most part terrestrials.

Orchids on display at the Orchid House

We invite you to visit our new Orchid Collection Photo Gallery by clicking here...

(note that it will open in a new browser window)

Palms are a fascinating group of plants, related to grasses but with complex reproductive strategies. They have an ancient lineage: the first palm fossil (leaves of Sabal species) dates back to the upper Cretaceous Period, 84 million years ago. Palms have a wide distribution and are found in tropical and subtropical regions, and also occur in desert areas where permanent ground water is available. Only a very small number of palms grow in temperate countries.

Here at Durban Botanic Gardens, we have an extensive palm collection of more than 130 species from 58 genera. The beautiful Palm Walk was established in 1889 and today contains a majestic stand of palms lining the avenue. The Palmetum partly surrounds the lake in the grounds and was created in 1977. The collection has a diverse group of palms, ranging from the Giant Fishtail Palm of Borneo which grows to over 25m in height, to the small Chamaedorea palms which grow in the understory of rain forests.

Many palms are threatened with extinction in the wild especially those which occur in tropical rain forests or on small islands. Here, the removal of rain forest habitats for timber, agriculture, pasture and mining are seriously endangering palms throughout the world. The removal of seeds and plants from the wild by unscrupulous palm collectors is another important factor in the conservation status of many rare palm species. Often seeds from whole stands of palms are taken illegally, isolating populations and bringing them even closer to extinction.

Here at the Durban Botanic Gardens, we are in the process of creating a seed bank of our palm species. The primary aim is to ensure that the gene pool of each species is as genetically diverse as possible. This could, in future, supplement endangered wild population and be of use in re-introduction programmes.