The University Botanical Garden

The University Botanical Garden is a research and nature conservation institution. Its purposes are to preserve, study, introduce, acclimatize, and propagate rare and typical species of local and world flora in specially created conditions by creating, replenishing, and preserving botanical collections; conducting research and educational activity.

The Botanical Garden was founded in 1804. It is the oldest botanical garden in Ukraine. Its history is associated with the names of prominent scientists such as V. Cherniaiev, M. Turchaninov, A. Beketov, V. Arnoldi, O. Korshykov, Ye. Lavrenko, L. Shkorbatov, and others.

The Garden has rich collections of trees and herbs: more than 7,000 species of local and world flora are exhibited in the departments of dendrology, natural flora, open-ground flowers and ornamental plants, tropical and subtropical plants. The Botanical Garden has over 1,000 types and forms of trees and shrubs, more than 1,000 species of natural flora herbs, over 2,000 species and varieties of flowers and ornamental plants, and the collection of tropical and subtropical plants contains 3,000 taxons.

Relict species and endemics are of particular value. Fifteen species are included in the European Red List, 95 — in the Red Book of Ukraine. 1,400 species of trees and herbs have been introduced for the first time in the North-East of Ukraine.

The Garden’s Arboretum is laid out to create various botanical and geographical areas with phytocenosis elements: expositions Europe, The Mediterranean, Siberia, The Far East, Central Asia, North America, China and Japan.

The North-East of Ukraine exposition features native flora of the region. This particular lay-out of the Arboretum allows to solve relevant issues facing botanical gardens.

Herbaceous plants of natural flora are presented in expositions of medicinal, ground-covering, mountain plants, and the system of angiosperms of Ukraine.

Flower and ornamental plants collections are divided into separate monocultural gardens and combined plots Annuals and Perennials.

The conservatory houses grow plants of tropical rainforests, wet and dry subtropics, deserts and semi-deserts (trees, shrubs, herbs) from Australia and New Zealand, South-East Asia, Africa, the Mediterranean, Central and South America, Japan and China. The most widely represented collections are bromeliads, aroids and succulents.

The Botanical Garden conducts research in order to develop a scientific basis for conservation and protection of biodiversity, especially rare and endangered plants. The Garden studies methods of growing, propagating, selecting, and introducing into production ornamental, medicinal, food, fodder, and other valuable plants.
The Botanical Garden research facilities are widely used for teaching students of universities, vocational schools, lyceums, colleges, schools, advanced training courses, etc.

The Botanical Garden is also engaged in educational activity to shape an environmentally conscious worldview of the population, develop ecological culture, disseminate environmental and nature conservation knowledge.

The Botanical Garden participates in international cooperation on topical issues of preservation, use, and development of botanical gardens; exchanges plant material, scientific information; participates in research conferences, symposia, joint expeditions, etc. The Botanical Garden is a member of the Botanic Gardens Conservation International and has established cooperation with 230 botanical institutions in 40 countries of the world.