Joseph-Gottlieb Kölreuter Institute for Plant Sciences

April-September Mo-Fr 8-16, So 10-15, October-March Mo-Fr 8-15, So 10-14, entrance free! How to find us

WHY THE KIT NEEDS AN EXPERIMENTAL STATION - OUR PROFILE

The Garden as Biodiversity-Hotspot

Since several years, the garden is investigated for biodiversity in frame of Citizen Science projects. Again and again it emerges as a biodiversity hotspot. During the nocturnal insect monitoring in June, more than 60 species of moths were caught and determined, among them also attractive species, such as the Elephant Hawkmoth. Also for birds and even for plant loving fungi the garden is attractive, and occasionally one can even meet the Stag Beetle. No wonder, here numerous plants growt together, there are numerous niches and our gardeners work almost exclusively with biological pest control. 

What will happen with this refuge for rare species, when the new building in the Kornblumenstraße will be ready, is not known. As the entire area from the Children Clinics till the Fasanenweg also this area is assigned by the KIT for construction, even though no projects have been defined yet.

Research News

November 1, our new cooperation project with the Start-up Vertical Farming and the Max-Rubner-Institute, funded by the Federal Institute for Agriculture, will be launched. Running time is three years. A precursor project, funded by the State of Baden-Württemberg tested, in the Botanic Garden of the KIT, a prototype for a Vertical Farm device, where the accumulation of value giving compounds was stimulated by repeated gravity stimulation. In theis context, we discovered that aeroponics (spraying the roots with a nutritious mist) stimulates root growth to an extent never seen before. The new project will now valorise this discovery. Target are cash rhizome crops such as Ginger, Turmeric, or Wasabi. To protect the precious products from infection by pathogens, a new technology will be tested, where the roots are inoculated by root bacteria that had been identified by us previously. These microbes can stimulate plant immunity. This will allow to avoid chemical plant protection, but also circumvent the need for the extreme quarantine standards commonly used in Vertical Farming. This will lower costs considerable and extend the applicability of this new farming method far beyond current use. 

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Wild Bees

Wildbienen leben meist solitär, fliegen auch bei niederen Temperaturen und bestäuben ihre Wirtspflanzen sehr gut. In Deutschland tragen viele hundert Wildbienenarten zu einer erstaunlichen Insektenvielfalt in Deutschland bei. Während der gesamten Vegetationsperiode sind diese oft unscheinbaren Bestäuber zu beobachten. So vielfältig wie der Artenreichtum ist, so vielfältig ist auch die Lebensweise. Lernen Sie Garten-Wildbienen vor Ort kennen und lassen Sie sich von einsehbaren Wildbienen-Nestern faszinieren.
Sie werden lernen, dass durch einfache Maßnahmen viele Wildbienen Arten ein dauerhaftes Zuhause auch in ihrem Garten finden werden: Welche Pflanzen finden Wildbienen gut? Wo nisten Wildbienen? Welchen Beitrag leisten Nisthilfen zur Artenvielfalt von Wildbienen?

Teilnehmerzahl ist begrenzt! Buchung

Forthcoming: Through the Green With All Senses

Süß, sauer, bitter oder salzig – oder doch eher herb, ranzig, faulig? Vielleicht auch weich, flauschig, rau oder fest? Wie nehmen wir Pflanzen eigentlich wahr? Wie schmecken, riechen, fühlen sie sich an? Welche Düfte verbergen sich in ihren Blüten und Früchten, welche Texturen auf ihren Blättern? Gemeinsam begeben wir uns auf eine sinnliche Entdeckungsreise durch die faszinierende Pflanzenwelt des Botanischen Gartens. Dabei sind nicht nur Augen und Ohren gefragt; wir laden Sie ein, die Vielfalt der Flora mit allen Sinnen zu erleben. Tauchen Sie ein in die bunte, vielgestaltige Welt der Pflanzen und entdecken Sie, wie lebendig Natur sein kann, wenn man genau hinschaut, -riecht, -fühlt und -schmeckt.

Teilnehmerzahl ist begrenzt! Buchung

Plant of the Month: Trumpet Pitchers

Outside, in the moor area, now the bizzarre Trumpet Pitchers (Sarracenia) emerge. This plant originates from the moors of the Southeastern US and is adapted to nutrient depletion. It gets the vital nitrogen by luring in small insects that, in the desperate attempt to escape through the window like bright patches, slip and fall into the digestive fluid in the abyss of the leaf, where they are devoured by corrosive liquid. This way, the plant can forage nitrogen (moors are poor in nutrients). This trick resembles the true Pitcher Plants that have evolved independently in Southeast Asia. 

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What to see?

The Carcass Flower Stapelia unfolds currently its "attractive" scent - the flies like it... (Sukkulentenhaus, towards Infocenter)

The Henbane opens its eerie flowers around St. John's Day and was a component of the medieval witch ointment (Referenz- und Nutzpflanzenbeete, behind the poster on flower development)