历史沿革

爱丁堡皇家植物园（Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh，简称RBGE）创立于1670年，是英国第二古老的植物园，仅次于牛津大学植物园。1670年，两位医生罗伯特·西博尔德（Robert Sibbald）和安德鲁·鲍尔弗（Andrew Balfour）在圣安妮广场（位于荷里路德宫附近）创建了这座药草园，最初用于医学教学和药用植物栽培。1820年，植物园迁至现在的因弗莱萨地区（Inverleith），即如今的园址。如今的园区拥有70英亩（约28公顷）的广阔空间，园内树木超过3500棵，其中包括英国和爱尔兰最大的中国 winged nut（枫杨）树。

机构性质

爱丁堡皇家植物园是苏格兰政府的执行非部门公共机构，同时也是注册慈善组织（慈善号SC007983）。其愿景是”植物、人与地球的美好未来”，使命是”探索、保护、解释植物世界”。每年吸引超过100万游客参观，是全球最重要的植物多样性科学研究中心之一。

四大园区

RBGE在苏格兰拥有四个风格各异的园区：

爱丁堡主园——位于城市心脏地带，占地70英亩，展示来自150多个国家的植物收藏。温带棕榈屋（建于1858年）是苏格兰最高的同类建筑。

贝恩莫植物园（Benmore Botanic Garden）——坐落于阿盖尔郡壮观的山坡上，占地120英亩，以高耸的针叶树和壮观的杜鹃花闻名。入口处的160年历史红杉大道（49棵巨杉）是世界上最美的主入口之一，园内还拥有3000多种杜鹃花和修复完好的维多利亚时代蕨类馆。

道维克植物园（Dawyck Botanic Garden）——位于苏格兰边境的皮布尔斯附近，以来自世界各地凉爽干燥地区的耐寒植物著称，尤其拥有丰富的真菌和隐花植物多样性。

洛根植物园（Logan Botanic Garden）——拥有近乎亚热带气候，是苏格兰最具异国风情的花园，种植大量南半球植物。

植物收藏

爱丁堡皇家植物园的活体植物收藏包括超过13,302种植物（来自约150个国家），共计34,422份标本，约占全球已知植物物种的4%。标本馆收藏超过300万份植物标本，图书馆藏书约7万册、期刊约15万册，是苏格兰国家植物学研究的重要基地。主园的特色园区包括岩石园（收藏5000余种高山植物）、阿尔卑斯植物园、女王母亲纪念花园、隐花植物园，以及令人印象深刻的温室群。

科学研究

RBGE的科学研究涵盖多个领域：植物分类与宏观生态学、保护科学（解决从地方到全球尺度的环境挑战）、生物多样性基因组学（利用DNA数据揭示植物进化和生态关系）。重点科研项目包括：世界植物在线（World Flora Online）——在线植物百科全书、国际针叶树保护计划、苏格兰植物恢复计划、杜鹃花全球保护联盟，以及基于自然的气候适应解决方案研究。

教育活动

RBGE提供丰富的教育资源：与苏格兰农村学院（SRUC）合办的植物学与园艺学位课程、在线学习平台、专业培训的生物多样性技能中心，以及面向学校和儿童的项目。每年举办多种活动，包括Earth Matters土壤艺术展、草药学展览（庆祝20周年）、探险植物学家项目，以及覆盖四园的导览 tours。

 

网址：https://www.rbge.org.uk/

History

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) was founded in 1670, making it the second oldest botanic garden in the British Isles after Oxford’s. Established at St Anne’s Yard near Holyrood Palace by two doctors Robert Sibbald and Andrew Balfour, it began as a physic garden for medical teaching and cultivation of medicinal plants. In 1820, the garden moved to its present location in Inverleith. Today the main garden covers 70 acres (28 hectares) with over 3,500 trees, including UK and Ireland champion specimens such as the Chinese wingnut (Pterocarya macroptera var delavayi).

Institutional Status

RBGE is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government and a registered charity (SC007983). Its vision is “a positive future for plants, people and the planet” and its mission is “to explore, conserve and explain the world of plants.” The gardens attract over one million visitors annually and serve as one of the world’s most important centres for biodiversity science.

Four Gardens

RBGE operates four distinct gardens across Scotland:

Edinburgh — The main garden in the heart of the city, covering 70 acres with plants from over 150 countries. The Temperate Palm House (built 1858) is the tallest such structure in Scotland.

Benmore Botanic Garden — Set on a magnificent mountainside on the Cowal Peninsula, this 120-acre garden is celebrated for towering conifers and spectacular rhododendrons. Its iconic entrance features a 160-year-old avenue of 49 giant redwoods (Sequoiadendron giganteum), 50m high. Benmore also houses 3,000 rhododendron plants from over 300 species and a restored Victorian fernery.

Dawyck Botanic Garden — Situated near Peebles in the Scottish Borders, Dawyck is renowned for hardy plants from the world’s cooler, drier regions, with exceptional diversity of fungi and cryptogamics.

Logan Botanic Garden — With an almost sub-tropical climate, Logan is Scotland’s most exotic garden, showcasing extensive southern hemisphere plant collections.

Plant Collections

RBGE’s living collection comprises over 13,302 plant species (34,422 accessions) from approximately 150 countries—about 4% of all known plant species. The herbarium houses over 3 million preserved specimens, while the library holds around 70,000 books and 150,000 periodicals. Notable Edinburgh features include the Rock Garden (over 5,000 alpine species), the Alpine Garden, the Queen Mother’s Memorial Garden, the Cryptogamic Garden, and an impressive glasshouse complex including the Victorian Tropical Palm House.

Scientific Research

RBGE’s research spans taxonomy and macroecology, conservation science (addressing environmental challenges from local to global scales), and biodiversity genomics (using DNA data to understand plant evolution and ecology). Major projects include World Flora Online (an online flora of all known plants), the International Conifer Conservation Programme, Scottish Plant Recovery, the Global Conservation Consortium for Rhododendron, and nature-based solutions for urban climate adaptation.

Education

RBGE offers diverse educational programmes: horticulture and plantsmanship degrees in partnership with SRUC, online learning, professional training through the Biodiversity Skills Centre, and dedicated programmes for schools and children. Annual events include the Earth Matters exhibition on soil, the Herbology exhibition (celebrating 20 years), Expedition Botanics, and guided garden tours across all four sites.

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