South Africa botanical gardens are some of the best in the world, especially ones that concentrate on cultivating and conserving indigenous plants. Eight of the country's botanical gardens are managed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute.
The botanical gardens in South Africa include the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden near Cape Town, which is not only the largest but also the most popular with an estimated 680 000 visitors per annum. The garden is home to a wide variety of the Cape Flora.
The Disa flora and the King protea, South Africa's national flower, are cultivated in the Harold Porter National Botanical Garden, located an hour from Cape Town near the coastal town of Hermanus. This garden lies in the Cape fynbos region.
The Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden near Johannesburg boasts a large collection of lithops, one of the largest in the world and is home to over 230 species of birds, reptiles and mammals.
Pretoria National Botanical Garden boasts the biggest herbarium in the Southern Hemisphere.
For plants originating from the Free State, Northern Cape and Lesotho, turn to the Free State Botanical Garden near Bloemfontein, where they are grown.
The KwaZulu-Natal Botanical Garden in Pietermaritzburg focuses on growing indigenous plants from the eastern region of South Africa, many of which are endangered; while the Lowveld National Botanical Garden near Nelspruit is home to ancient cycads and various shrubs, which are evergreen thanks to the Nels River and Crocodile River that course through the garden.
Two other remarkable South African Botanical gardens are the Durban Botanical Garden, popular for its large collection of cycad and its huge Orchid House, as well as the Johannesburg National Botanical Garden, which offers large green spaces close to the city centre.
Source: http://www.southafrica.net
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