Durban Botanic Gardens

Established in 1849 as a trial ground for crops that might grow in the colony, the Durban gardens are among the oldest botanical institutions in Africa still operating. About fifteen hectares of subtropical planting includes a large orchid house, a palm collection, a sunken garden and an old fig avenue. The specimen with the most weight is a cycad, Encephalartos woodii, planted here from material collected in 1903 - the species is extinct in the wild and every known plant is male, propagated by offsets from that one original stem, so it cannot reproduce and has been called the loneliest plant in the world. The garden also holds one of the older cycad collections anywhere. Entry is free, the lawns are used by the city, and there is a tea garden. It is an urban park as much as a scientific collection.

History

Dr Charles Johnston laid out the first garden in December 1849, as part of Kew's network of botanic gardens for useful plants. The self-taught botanist John Medley Wood was curator from 1882 to 1913 and founded the Natal Government Herbarium in 1882, and the gardens now cover 15 hectares (Wikipedia, Durban Botanic Gardens).

The landscape

• The Wood's cycad - a species extinct in the wild, every plant a male clone of one stem.
• The 1849 foundation - one of Africa's oldest surviving botanical gardens.
• The orchid house - a substantial collection under glass.
• The free entry - a working city park as well as a scientific garden.

When to go

All year - subtropical, so something is always flowering. Two hours.

Before you go

It is in a city and feels like it - traffic noise, urban surroundings. The Wood's cycad is a single unremarkable-looking plant unless you know the story. Durban summers are hot and very humid. Take normal city precautions with belongings.

Nearby

Durban's beachfront and the Berea are close; the Moses Mabhida stadium is north.

Key facts