Bogor Botanical Garden

                                            

The bane of urbanization is that we fail to co-exists with nature. The age old trees in our surroundings give way to skyscrapers. To get lost in the wilderness, I went to Bogor Botanical Garden. I was a little disturbed to see that the Garden was located in the middle of the town with vehicles buzzing past. However , there were some interesting facts I could gather about the "age old inhabitants of our planet".

Being in Jakarta, I was keen to see their national flower "Rafflesia". The flower blooms once in 6 years. Unfortunately for me, the flower bloomed the previous year and I was 365 days late.

Presidential Palace

The Bogor Botanical Garden borders with the Presidential Palace with a well maintained garden.

In the Garden, there were huge old evergreen trees and collections of ferns, cacti, palms, symbiotic plants. 

Bamboo Collection

The Garden houses about 30 species of Bamboo from tropics and sub-tropics.The bamboo grows in clumps in tropics and monopodial in sub-tropic.There are about 1250 species worldwide

The Fabaceae deciduous tree Pterocarpus indicus Wild was planted in the garden in the year 1855. It sheds its leaves once a year and after a while blooms with young leaves and yellow fragrant flowers. The red exudates from the bark is used as natural dye and medicine. The wood smells like rose and the timber is used to make furniture. The uniqueness of Fabaceae plant group is that they fix atmospheric nitrogen with the help of Rhizobium and Bradyrhizobium and increases the fertility of the soil. 

Pterocarpus indicus Wild

                                           

Amherstia nobilis(Pride of Burma)

They are used as ornamental plants like Amherstia nobilis, Queen of flowering trees. While others produce chemical toxin like tuba (Derris elliptica) which are cultivated for its roots which is a source for insecticide known as Rotenone

Walking Pandanus

You would have heard of the Walking Palm in Amazon jungle which moves up to seven feet a year.The walking Pandanus in the garden traverses 5 cm a year.



Brahmi Inscriptions

Amongst this age old trees there was an inscription on a stone with a sculpture of Nandi and Goddess of Hindu mythology.The inscription should be the Sanskrit language inscribed in Brahmi script. It would have been some facts or poem by the old literates. Today many old languages give way to new ones. There would be a time few centuries ahead when the languages we now use would also give way to new ones and just as I stood trying to decipher the inscriptions of Brahmi script the new generation would stand amazed at our works too.