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 Freundeskreis Botanischer Garten am KIT e.V. takes care of the dialogue between research and teaching with the public and organises numerous events. more...

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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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: Cocoa

In the Tropical House the Cocoa Tree is in flower. The tiny flowers emerge directly from the stem. Some have already started to form fruits. These are still small as a pea, but will reach in a few months impressive 30-40 cm. The domesticated Cocoa exists in different varieties, the tasty, but disease susceptible 'Criollo' and the currently dominating robust, but less tasty 'Forastero'. Our Cocoa Tree is a hybrid from both and emerged in the 18. century in Trinidad, when the 'Criollo' had almost vanished due to pandemies and the 'Forastero' was introduced, such that this hybrid formed spontaneously. Therefore, it is called 'Trinitario'. The origin of Cocoa is thought to be in the South of Venezuela, from where it entered Central America in pre-Columbian times. By the way, the Cocoa belongst to the Malvacea, similar to Hibiscus and Cotton. 

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What to see?

Leaves that turn to stomachs - the Pitcher Plant Nephenthes maxima can catch even cockroaches (Eingangshalle, Infocenter). The  from Madagascar lives in a bizzarre symbiosis with the Finger Lemur paying for pollination services by fluorescent urine(Palmenhaus). Images: Maren Riemann

In the Waterlily House the giant leaves of the Amazonas Water Lily have opened. They were the template for the famous Crystal Palace for the London World Exhibition. Also the giant flower is already opening (Tropische Sumpf- und Wasserpflanzen).