Abstract
KIRSTENBOSCH, part of the Groot Schuur Estate at Cape Town, South Africa, bequeathed to the nation by Cecil Rhodes, was set apart in 1913 for the purposes of a National Botanic Garden. The report of the Trustees for the year 1936 (issued August 1936) shows that, in spite of its small financial resources, a very gratifying amount of botanical, educational and economic work has been done. The objects of the Gardens are “the collection, cultivation and study of the indigenous flora of South Africa; the preservation of the native vegetation of the areas under control; and the introduction to cultivation in South Africa of selected economic plants, indigenous and exotic, and their preliminary trial”. During the year under review, sixteen new species have been described, and many papers have been published. Large quantities of seeds of various species have been distributed to members of the South African Botanical Society and other institutions and the trade, and more than 200 lots of succulent plants have been propagated. Perhaps the Gardens' most useful activity is shown by the announcement that 1,108 Ib. of Barosma betulina has been harvested, and also 102 Ib. of B. crenulata, 1 oz. of Dalmatian insect powder flowers, 6 Ib. of sumach, and 3 Ib. of tansy-products which could be brought within the channels of commerce. Trials of lawn grasses are in progress, and many additions of fresh plants have been made to all parts of the garden. The report shows that the Gardens interpret every aspect of the flora of South Africa in a marked degree. Mr. F. W. Thorns has been appointed curator of the Garden, in succession to Mr. J. W. Mathews, who has held the post of curator since the foundation of the Garden in 1913.
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The National Botanic Garden of South Africa. Nature 139, 106 (1937). https://doi.org/10.1038/139106b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/139106b0