Lowveld National Botanical Garden

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South Africa - Mpumalanga - Nelspruit

Institution Code: NBGL

BGCI Member: Yes

About the Lowveld National Botanical Garden

Parastatal organisation (SANBI) under the national Department of Environment, Forestry & Fisheries (DEFF), South Africa

Rugged, rocky river scenery is the perfect, spectacular setting for Nelspruit's main tourist attraction, the Lowveld National Botanical Garden, situated in the heart and at the hub of Mpumalanga. The 159 ha garden straddles the Crocodile and Nels Rivers. Viewed from the air, it is clear that the two Rivers dominate the scene and determine the character of this Garden. The Crocodile surges through a narrow, solid rock gorge that has been scoured out and pot-holed over millennia, while the Nels River tumbles down a waterfall from the west, to converge with the Crocodile in a serene pool on a bend in the river.

Main Address:
Lowveld National Botanical Garden
South African National Biodiversity Institute,
P.O.Box 1024, NELSPRUIT 1200, South Africa.
Nelspruit
Mpumalanga South Africa

Telephone: +27 (0)13 752 5531
Fax: +27 (0)13 752 6216
URL: www.sanbi.org
Primary Email: a.mamatsharaga@sanbi.org.za

Staff Details

  • Director's Name: Mr Christopher Willis
    Curator's Name: Mr Avhatakali Mamatsharaga
    Plant Records Officer's Name:
  • Total Staff:
    Horticultural Staff Number: 3
    Educational Staff Number: 4
    Research Staff Number: 1
    Administration Staff Number: 3

About the Garden

  • Institution Type: Botanic Garden
  • Status
  • Status: State: Yes
    Status: Educational: Yes
  • Date founded: 1969
  • Physical Data
  • Natural Vegetation Area: Yes
    Natural vegetation area: Size: 134 Hectares
  • Landscaped Area: Yes
    Landscaped Area: Size: 25 Hectares
  • Total Area: 159 Hectares
    Latitude: -25.4500
    Longitude: 30.4833
    Annual Rainfall: 750 mm
    Altitude: 640.00 Metres
    Total area of shadehouses: 200 Metres
  • Locality: Information
  • Locality: Garden Name:
  • Local Address: Off R40 - White River Road, Nelspruit
  • Locality: City:
  • Locality: State:

Features and Facilities

  • Herbarium: Yes
    Herbarium: Number of Specimens: 7
    Arboretum: Yes
    Arboretum Size: 15
  • Computer Plant Record System: Yes
  • Open to public: Yes
    Friends society: Yes
    Retail Outlet: Shop: No
    Retail Outlet: Plant Sales: Yes
    Disabled access: Yes
  • Number of Visitors: 75000
    Number of Volunteers: 8

Plant Collections

  • Accession Number: 3000
    Cultivation Taxa Num: 1500
  • Special Collections:Cycads mainly South African as well as trees of southern Africa 720 species. Cycads - genus Encephalartos

Conservation Programmes

  • Conservation Programme: Yes
    Medicinal Plant Programme: Yes
    Ex Situ Conservation Programme: Yes

Research Programmes

  • Conservation - Biology: Yes
    Data Management Systems and Information Technology: Yes
    Ecology: Yes
    Education: Yes
    Exploration: Yes
    Floristics: Yes
    Horticulture: Yes
    Systematics and Taxonomy: Yes

Education Programmes

  • Visitor/Education Centre: Yes
    Education Signs in Garden: Yes
    Public Lectures/Talks: Yes
    Education Booklets/Leaflets: Yes
    Guided Tours: Yes
    Permanent Public Displays: Yes
    Courses for School Children: Yes
    Courses for General Public: Yes
    Education Programme: Yes