A 19th-century botanical garden
Around 1840, after several decades of failed attempts, the Botanical Garden of Granada was founded under the auspices of the Faculty of Medicine. It was a scientific institution designed for the study of plant species and to support teaching. From 1850, and throughout the second half of the 19th century, its director was the botanist Mariano del Amo y Mora, who would also become the first dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy.
Originally, the garden was organized according to the scheme proposed by Linnaeus. After Amo y Mora's arrival, it was structured into two large sections. The first, consisting of fourteen plots, was called the Botanical School. There, according to the scientific classification in force at the time, useful plants were displayed so that students could learn about the diversity of the plant kingdom. These were very varied plants, many of them native to America and the Philippines, most of them from seeds sent by the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid. The second section, then called Floriculture, collected plants according to their uses: medicinal, ornamental, edible, etc.
In that first 19th-century garden, there was a special interest in plants from the Sierra Nevada, whose rich flora was already well known. There was also interest in ornamental plants, many of which were introduced to the city for the first time and would go on to form part of the city's public gardens and country estates.
Over time, the garden lost its character as a useful space for teaching, becoming an ornamental garden attached to the Faculty of Law. Fortunately, this transition took place while preserving the 19th-century structure.
The University, aware of the enormous value of preserving this space as it was conceived more than a hundred years ago, has returned it to its original use, converting it into a Historic Botanical Garden, maintaining the documentary value of its structure and opening it for student training, school use, and the peaceful contemplation of nature.
The oldest images of the gardens of the Colegio de San Pablo, where the Botanical Garden is currently located, show the walls of the old Nasrid city, with some towers.
A. View of Granada, by Anton Van den Wyngaerde, 1567.
B. Plan attributed to Fr. Giuseppe Valeriano (Bibliothèque Nationale de France, 1578).
C. Platform of Ambrosio Vico (engraving by Francisco Heylan, c. 1612).
Layout of the Garden
A. Botanical School:
Collection of plants arranged in 14 plots corresponding to the classification system used by the garden's director, Mariano del Amo, in the design of this garden and in his work Flora Fanerogámica (1871-1873).
Botanical School Plots:
I Monocotyledons
II - IV Monoclamydeae
V – VI Corolliflorae
VII Gamopetalous Calyciflorae
VIII – XII Dialipetalous Calyciflorae
XIII – XIV Thalamiflorae
B. Floriculture Section:
Plants grouped according to use
• Medicinal plants
• Aquatic plants
• Horticultural plants
• Ornamental plants
C. Special Collections:
• Rockery
• Ferns
• Citrus fruits
• Hedges and climbing plants
Visiting rules
Opening: The garden can be visited during the Law School's opening hours (generally Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., closed on weekends and public holidays).
Guided tours: Guided tours can be arranged for school groups by contacting the Botanical Garden (contact form, QR code).
Warnings:
- The plants may be treated with phytosanitary products and may not be suitable for consumption.
- Some species may be toxic on contact.
Further information:
Book “The Botanical Garden of the UGR”
Website and contact form