- The Alameda Gibraltar Botanic Gardens
Infobox park
park=The Alameda: Gibraltar Botanic Gardens
image size=300px
caption= The Dell in the heart of the Alameda Gardens
type=
location=Gibraltar
coordinates=Coord|36.7|-5.21
size=convert|6|ha|km2|lk=on
opened=1816
status=Botanical garden The Alameda Gibraltar Botanic Gardens or The Alameda Gardens is a
botanical garden inGibraltar , spanning around six hectares (0.060 km²).History
The gardens were founded in 1816 by
Governor of Gibraltar General George Don in order to provide a recreational area for the Garrison at the time. Serving that purpose for many years, the gardens fell into disrepair in the 1970s until "The Gibraltar Botanic Gardens" project , funded by a firm of environmental consultants and managers, "Wildlife (Gibraltar) Limited", came about in 1991.The Eliott Memorial
General Don had commissioned a memorial of
George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield in 1815 which did not materialise in the form initially requested. A colossal statue of General Eliot, carved from thebowsprit of the Spanish ship San Juan Nepomuceno, taken at theBattle of Trafalgar was created in lieu. The statue was taken to the Governor's residence, "The Convent", where it stands today, being replaced by a bronze bust in 1858.Plants of the Gardens
The plants of the Alameda Gardens are a combination of native species and others brought in from abroad:
*"
Dracaena draco " (Canary Islands Dragon Tree), a subtropical Dragon Tree native to theCanary Islands ,Cape Verde ,Madeira ,Azores , and locally in westernMorocco . The oldest dragon tree in the gardens is about 300 years old.
*Stone pine ("Pinus pinea"), a species ofpine native of southernEurope , primarily theIberian Peninsula .
*WildOlive ("Olea europaea"), aspecies of smalltree in the familyOleaceae .
*"Celtis australis " (European Nettle Tree), adeciduous tree that can be among 20 to 25 metres of height.
*"Grevillea robusta " (Australian Silk Oak), the largest species in the genus "Grevillea". There is only one specimen of this tree in the gardens.
*Canary Island Date Palm ("Phoenix canariensis"), a large palm native to theCanary Islands off the Atlantic coast of northAfrica .
*"Washingtonia filifera " (Washingtonia), a palm native to thedesert oases of Central, southern and southwesternArizona , southern Nevada, extreme northwestMexico and inland deserts of southernCalifornia .
*"Howea forsteriana " (Kentia palm), endemic toLord Howe Island .
*Solitaire Palm "Ptychosperma elegans"
*Chinese hibiscus ("Hibiscus rosa-sinensis"), anevergreen shrub native toEast Asia .
*Bougainvillea , a genus offlowering plant s native toSouth America fromBrazil west toPeru and south to southernArgentina (Chubut Province ).
*"Asteraceae " (daisies), the second largest family family offlowering plant s.
*"Pelargonium ", agenus offlowering plant s.
*Succulent plant ,water -retainingplant s adapted toarid climate orsoil conditions.ee also
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Gibraltar candytuft References
*cite web|url=http://www.gibraltargardens.gi/|title=Welcome to the Gibraltar Botanic Gardens|accessdate=2007-11-27|publisher=The Alameda Gibraltar Botanic Gardens
*cite web|url=http://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/|title=Gibraltar Botanical Gardens "The Alameda"|accessdate=2007-11-27|publisher=Government of GibraltarExternal links
* [http://www.gibraltargardens.gi/index.php Official website]
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