BOTANICS

The principle upon which all genuine Botanic gardens are established is the acquisition of plant materials for teaching, research and public amenity. Conservation forms part of these functions and the scope for conservation in the Dundee Garden is increasing. The tradition of using botanic gardens to illustrate the supposed taxonomic or evolutionary relationships of plants has never formed part of the policy of this garden.

The major areas of teaching and research are concentrated on the physiological function of plants, their survival strategies, ecology, symbiotic and family relationships. The Garden, therefore, has no brief to make large collections of plants based on purely aesthetic considerations or even on grounds of botanical curiosity.

One of the most important features of the Garden is the Native Plant Communities Unit. Here, a series of plant associations has been established to represent types of vegetation that can be found in Britain. Sited in a layout running north to south are representatives of the mountain and uplands areas, dwarf scrub, pine and birch forest, ash wood, oak and beech forest and, at the lowest point, a nutrient-rich pool. These are linked by a burn, which is fed from a spring in the North West corner of the Garden. The woody plant elements are now sufficiently mature to allow the introduction beneath the trees of the associated field layers and the woodlands are already proving a useful teaching resource for students, school pupils and the general public.

Unlike a taxonomic layout, where plants are assembled in un-natural groupings that show supposed evolutionary relationships, the layout of the Botanic Garden respects the real nature of vegetation, thereby promoting familiarity with native plants from all over the British Isles, as well as providing a useful guide to their ecology.