A virtual Tour of AJC Bose Indian Botanic Garden, BSI, Howrah

AJC Bose Indian Botanic Garden, established in 1790 by Robert Kyd on the bank of River Hooghly, and formerly known as Indian Botanic Garden, is one of the best landscaped gardens in the world. At present, the garden has an area of 273 acres and is a living repository of more than 14,000 plants belonging to 1,405 species. The garden has 25 different sections with 24 interconnected artificial lakes and recognized as a unique place of learning and has attractions such as the ‘Great Banyan Tree: a living wonder in the plant kingdom; the Large Palm House containing rich collection of palms, including the Double Coconut Palm (Lodoicea maldivica); Branching Palm (Hyphaene thebaica) introduced from Egypt; the Century Palm (Corypha macropoda); the Giant Water Lily (Victoria amazonica) brought from Amazon River; the Queen of flowering trees (Amherstia nobilis), a native of Myanmar; the Mountain Rose or Venezuelan Rose (Brownea macrophylla; the Baobab Tree or Kalpavriksh (Adansonia digitata), a native of Africa; the Rosogolla Tree (Chrysophyllum cainio); The Cannon ball tree (Couroupita guianensis); the African Sausage Tree (Kigelia pinnata); the Mad Tree (Pterygota alata) and the ‘Candle Stick Tree’ (Parmenriera cereifera), are a few to mention. Its germplasm collections cover Bamboos, Bougainvillea, Citrus, Jasmine, Pandanus, Water Lilies, Palms, and besides a Medicinal Plant Garden.