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Djelatnosti |
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Laboratory
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Seed store |
Projects
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Among
others, we draw special attention to the renovation of the
mountain botanical garden in Zavizan (The Velebit
Mountain, Northern Velebit Nature Park ) and to new ex
situ conservation project for croatian endemica nad
endangered plant species.
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The
renovation of the Velebit Botanical Garden on Zavižan |
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In those four or five months of the year when
Zavižan is not under snow, many of the visitors to
the Lodge make sure to visit the 800 m distant
Velebit Botanical Garden in Modrić dolac. The
Velebit Botanical Garden on Zavižan is the only
alpine botanical garden in Croatia.
In 1967, the late Dr Fran Kušan, a botanist with a
world-wide reputation, put into practice the idea of
a Velebit botanical garden. He wanted to collect and
label in the garden the variegated mass of lovely
plants that grow wild in the pre-montane parts of
Velebit. Thus in a single place, the visitor can
see all the plants that grow on the mountain. In a
relatively small space, around a sinkhole fifty or
some metres deep, called Balinovačka, there are
about five hundred wild Velebit plants, collected
over the whole of the mountain. |
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After the death of Professor Kušan (some twenty
years ago) the garden rapidly lost its glory, and
because of the conditions of the war, from 1990, it
was completely neglected.
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Balinovac sinkhole way |
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As part of a four-year project (2000-2004), staff
members of the Botanical Garden of the SF have been
helping the North Velebit National Park in a project
for the renovation of the Velebit Botanical Garden,
one that includes expert work (the re-identification
of species actually growing in the garden, the
procurement of new species, herbarium treatment,
photographic documentation, mapping, procurement of
literature) and horticultural work (mowing and
cleaning the neglected parts, weeding and pruning
the overgrown vegetation, tidying up visitor trails,
arranging and clearly marking the borders of the
Garden, the planting of new plant material). |
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horticultural work |
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Ex situ
zaštita endemičnih i rijetkih biljaka hrvatske flore |
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Although there is a long tradition of growing endemic and
rare Croatian plants in the Garden, we have only recently
received a special licence of the national Nature
protection agency to propagate, grow and sell a limited
number of velebit degenia (Degenia velebitica,
Brassicaceae).
Commercial production of such plants is strictly
prohibited by the law, for they are considered to be a
national nature treasure. However, some institutions, such
as botanical gardens, are usually allowed to grow and sell
a certain number of plant species which are otherwise
under strict statutory protection. These and similar
programmes help us to conserve the natural populations of
rare plants, by offering them for sale in the botanical
garden.
In the spring 2008 we plan a special exhibition and a
series of interesting lectures and workshops, accompanied
by the sale of 500 degenia specimens. Those will be
reserved for educational institutions (kindergartens,
schools and universities), and the rest will be offered
for sale to other visitors and citizens. We will use the
information from this first year to propagate the
necessary number of plants for the next season.
We also plan to grow and sell several other attractive
endemic plant species, for instance several species of the
genuses Campanula and Edraianthus.
All plants are grown from seeds obtained from established
garden populations (which are seldom ‘rejuvenated’ by
plants or seeds collected in wild, also with special
permits). We usually grow only small number of plants
(classical methods or micropropagation) due to lack of
space, time and personnel.
Funds obtained it the sale will be used for further
program development, e. g. buying literature and
laboratory equipment.
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Degenia velebitica - from seeds, sawing, young
plants to adult specimens in bloom. |
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