Bogor Botanical Gardens 5.15

The Bogor Botanical Gardens is a botanical garden located in Bogor, Indonesia, 60 km south of Jakarta. It is currently operated by Indonesian Institute of Sciences . The Gardens are located in the city center and adjoin the presidential palace compound of Istana Bogor. It covers an area of 87ha and contains 13,983 different kinds of trees and plants of various origin. The geographic position of Bogor means it rains almost daily, even in the dry season. This makes the Garden an advantageous location for the cultivation of tropical plants.Founded in 1817 by the order of the government of the Dutch East Indies, the Garden thrived under the leadership of many renowned botanists including Johannes Elias Teijsmann, Rudolph Herman Christiaan Carel Scheffer, and Melchior Treub. Since its foundation, Bogor Botanical garden has served as a major research center for agriculture and horticulture. It is the oldest botanical garden in Southeast Asia.HistoryBackgroundThe area that is now Bogor Botanical Gardens was part of the samida that was established at least around the era when Sri Baduga Maharaja ruled the Sunda Kingdom, as written in the Batutulis inscription. This forest was created to protect seeds of rare trees. The forest remained neglected after the Sundanese kingdom was destroyed in the 16th century. In 1744 the Dutch East India Company established a garden and mansion at the site of the present Botanical Gardens in Buitenzorg .