Botanic Garden of Castilla-La Mancha (JBCLM)
Country: Spain | Region: Castilla-La Mancha
The Botanic Garden of Castilla-La Mancha is located in the outskirts of the Spanish city of Albacete. Its 7 hectares of regional and world plant collections show the wide variety of plant species that can be found in the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha, as well as in the rest of the Mediterranean region and the world.
Since its opening in 2010, the Garden has focused on the conservation of endangered flora and its research. Half of its grounds represent the plant communities which can be found in 44 protected regional ecosystems, such as gypsum plainlands, which include many endemic plants, Spanish juniper woodlands, evergreen oak forests, where many well-known species like lavender or rosemary thrive, pine woodlands with rockroses and heathers, deciduous forests, where trees and shrubs like wych elms, lime trees, spindles, hollies, elders and other shrubs thrive; scrublands, with strawberry trees, rosemary, olive trees and other Mediterranean species, and even two ponds, surrounded by native riparian flora, representing a karstic and an endorheic lake, with plants from the Daimiel National Park and the Lagunas de Ruidera nature reserve.
Almost 2,000 plant species can be seen in such recreated habitats, including extremely endangered species: the Abenuj ironwort (Sideritis serrata), large-leaved spindle (Euonymus latifolius), Alcaraz cabbage (Coincya rupestris), blue larkspur (Delphinium fissum subsp. sordidum), Vella pseudocytisus… The other half of the Garden is a classic botanic Garden, with a representation of plants from all the corners of the world, including a systematic collection, where we can see plants in groups according to their evolutionary affinity, a rose collection, agaves, cacti and yuccas, and a greenhouse with flora from the tropics.
The Botanic Garden building harbours the Germplasm Bank of BGCLM, a massive collection of seeds belonging to more than 400 plant species, some of them, on the brink of extinction. These seeds are kept at low temperatures, ready to be awakened and germinated if needed by botanists.
Recently, the Botanic Garden received the certification of “Garden of Ecological Excellence”, thanks to the respectful gardening measures that are being implemented in it. Such procedures include a biological control of pests, a correct waste management and the optimisation of energy, which ensures a lower consumption rate of electricity and water.
Director: Dr. Pablo Ferrandis Gotor, Pablo.Ferrandis@uclm.es
Curator: Dr. Alejandro Santiago González, conservador@jardinbotanico-clm.com
Web: https://www.jardinbotanico-clm.com/