31-771: The Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanic Garden (sometimes shortened to the SSR Botanic Garden ), commonly known as the Pamplemousses Botanic Garden , is a popular tourist attraction in Pamplemousses , near Port Louis , Mauritius , and the oldest botanical garden in the Southern Hemisphere. Famous for its long pond of giant water lilies ( Victoria amazonica ), the garden, first constructed by Pierre Poivre (1719 – 1786) in 1770, covers an area of around 37 hectares (91 acres). The garden, for
62-423: A food resource. For example, the greater rhea ( Rhea americana ) has been observed feeding on it in the cerrado of Brazil . Lebbeck is an astringent , also used by some cultures to treat boils, cough , to treat the eye , flu , gingivitis , lung problems, pectoral problems, is used as a tonic, and is used to treat abdominal tumors . The bark is used medicinally to treat inflammation . This information
93-633: A long time was ranked third among all the gardens that could be admired over the surface of the globe', have been known successively as 'Jardin de Mon Plaisir', 'Jardin des Plantes', 'Le Jardin National de l’Ile de France', 'Jardin Royal', 'Jardin Botanique des Pamplemousses', and during the British colonisation , 'The Royal Botanical Gardens of Pamplemousses' and 'The Royal Botanic Gardens, Pamplemousses'. On 17 September 1988
124-520: A nursery for the acclimatization of potential crop plants from overseas – although its status as a botanic garden is disputed. These gardens sometimes acquired botanical status under the directorship of a botanist who would establish a herbarium . Pamplemousses is still a beautiful and interesting garden but without either herbarium or glasshouses. The garden was also used as a nursery for the planting and acclimatization of plants of botanical and economic importance that were introduced mostly from Europe and
155-611: Is a district of Mauritius , located in the northwest of the island, and is one of the most densely populated parts of the island. The name of the district comes from the French word for grapefruits . The district has an area of 178.7 km and an estimated population of 139,966, as of 31 December 2015. The district hosts the SSR botanical garden , or Jardin Botanique Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam , renamed in 1988 in honor of
186-406: Is a pod 15–30 cm (6–12 in) long and 2.5–5.0 cm (1–2 in) broad, containing six to twelve seeds . Mimosa speciosa as described by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin refers to Albizia lebbeck . The Mimosa speciosa of Carl Peter Thunberg , however, is Albizia julibrissin . The name Lebbeck is from the arabic word (لَبَّخ). In Tamil Nadu , the tree is known as vaagai as
217-506: Is a species of plant in the family Fabaceae , native to the Indian subcontinent and Myanmar . It is widely cultivated and naturalised in other tropical and subtropical regions, including Australia. Common names in English include siris , Indian siris , East Indian walnut , Broome raintree , lebbeck , lebbek tree , frywood , koko and woman's tongue tree . The latter name is a play on
248-699: Is somewhat convoluted. It was originally described by Carl Linnaeus as Mimosa lebbeck . In its original description the Mimosa lebbeck was a large Acacia tree that grew in Egypt. George Bentham placed the species in its present genus , but other authors believed that the plant described by Linnaeus was the related Albizia kalkora as described by Prain (based on the Mimosa kalkora of William Roxburgh ), and erroneously referred to this species as Albizia lebbeck . However, Francisco Manuel Blanco used Mimosa lebbeck to refer to Albizia retusa ssp. retusa . In addition,
279-418: Is thanks to Poivre and his successor Nicolas Céré , who devoted his life and most of his personal fortune to create the gardens, that Pamplemousses became well known to leading naturalists and acquired the worldwide fame it has since retained. Between 1810 and 1849, the gardens went through an unsettled and difficult period. In 1849, James Duncan was appointed director of the much neglected gardens. He restored
310-588: The Giant mottled eel can be seen. The aquatic plants you can see are Victoria amazonica , Alocasia macrorrhiza , Nelumbo nucifera , Nelumbo lutea and the different Nymphaea species. There are about 80 species of palms in the garden including the Hurricane palm , Hyophorbe lagenicaulis , Verschaffeltia splendida and Livistona saribus ; however the Talipot palm is the most famous. The plants you can find here include
341-549: The Rubber fig , Ebonies , Sugar cane and African baobabs . There's a medicinal plant corner which has all types of medicinal plants. There's also a spice garden where Pierre Poivre has collected spices from all around the world. 20°6′29.35″S 57°34′38.11″E / 20.1081528°S 57.5772528°E / -20.1081528; 57.5772528 Isle de France (Mauritius) Pamplemousses Pamplemousses ( Mauritian Creole pronunciation: [pɑ̃plemus] )
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#1733086085897372-587: The Botanical Garden became a crematorium as the former politician became the first person to be cremated within its grounds. Since 1985 other politicians have used the crematorium, where a permanent concrete Samadhi has been erected, to commemorate the anniversary of Ramgoolam's death. The garden has two enclosures. One enclosure houses Javan rusa ( Rusa timorensis ) and the other enclosure has Aldabra giant tortoises ( Aldabrachelys gigantea ) and only one Radiated tortoise ( Astrochelys radiata ). In August 2016, it
403-545: The East. Chief among the first introductions was cassava (manioc), which Labourdonnais brought from Brazil to provide food for the island's slaves. In 1739, the French East India Company took possession of Mon Plaisir and almost the entire estate was planted with mulberry trees in the hope of establishing a silkworm industry. Subsequently, the mulberries were replaced by a plantation of bois noir ( Albizia lebbeck ),
434-488: The Isle de France, Pierre Poivre was appointed Intendant of the island in 1767. The following year, he occupied Mon Plaisir in his official capacity and in 1770 he purchased the estate for himself. He was the creator of the present gardens, since in addition to a nursery for the acclimatisation of the nutmeg and clove plants, he also gathered together numerous plants from other areas with as many indigenous plant species as he could. It
465-504: The Royal Botanic Gardens of Pamplemousses can be traced to the first and most famous French Governor of Mauritius, Mahé de La Bourdonnais at a time when the island was known as Isle de France . In 1735, Labourdonnais bought the property Château Mon Plaisir and created a vegetable garden to provide produce for his household, the young township of Port Louis, and the ships landing on the island. If this garden counts as precursor to
496-400: The abandoned gardens to something of their former beauty and introduced numerous species of plants including many of the palms now represented in the gardens. By the middle of the last century, the sugar industry had been fast developing, and the gardens provided a suitable site for the introduction of new cane varieties from other parts of the world. Dr. Charles Meller, one of the directors of
527-556: The ancient kings of the Sangam Age had worn the garland made by this flower to celebrate victory in battles, with the word 'vaagai' meaning 'victory' in Tamil . Albizia is named after Francesco Albizzi , an Italian naturalist. It is also commonly referred to as siris, its Hindi name. In the West Indies and certain parts of South America this tree is known as a 'Shak Shak Tree' because of
558-624: The breeding places of mosquitoes. The Director of the Botanic Gardens became in due course also the Conservator of forests. The gardens stayed under his care until the creation of the Department of Agriculture in 1913. The latter then took over the responsibility of the gardens and they have remained under its control ever since. Following the death of Seewoosagur Ramgoolam in December 1985 part of
589-401: The charcoal of which could be used in the manufacture of gunpowder. The French had taken possession of the island as a naval base and the administration was geared towards taking precautions against the island being involved in a war. When Davis was appointed Governor in 1746, he built and resided at 'Le Réduit' and deserted the residence at Mon Plaisir, so that from 1746 until 1753, Mon Plaisir
620-553: The first prime minister of Mauritius. The garden was first constructed by Pierre Poivre (1719–1786) in 1770. The area is 25 hectares . The garden features spices , ebonies , sugar canes and many more. It also features lotuses as well as 85 varieties of palms from Central America , Asia , Africa and the islands around the Indian Ocean . The district is the home of the Pamplemousses SC local football team. It also has
651-642: The garden was formally named "Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanic Garden", named after the first prime minister of Mauritius , as was the smaller SSR Botanical Garden of Curepipe . In addition to its giant waterlilies, the garden also features spices, ebonies , sugar canes , and 85 varieties of palms from Central America, Asia, Africa and the islands around the Indian Ocean. Many trees have been planted by world leaders and royalty, including Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon , Indira Gandhi , François Mitterrand and Robert Mugabe . These gardens are situated in
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#1733086085897682-402: The garden, was sent to Australia and New Zealand to bring new varieties of canes; unfortunately, he died in the course of the journey. When the malaria epidemic struck Mauritius in 1866, much of the gardens were used as a nursery for the production of thousands of Eucalyptus tereticornis trees which were introduced in an attempt to control the disease by drying out the marshes of the country,
713-455: The highest hill in the north, also being a volcano, Mount Piton , with the other part in the Riviere du Rempart district. The Pamplemousses District includes different regions; however, some regions are further divided into different suburbs. This Mauritius location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Albizia lebbeck See Taxonomy Albizia lebbeck
744-416: The present garden, then Pamplemousses is the oldest botanical garden in the former British territories. On the other hand, its origin is often traced to 1768, when Pierre Poivre became director. Either way, it was one of the oldest and the most remarkable botanical collections in the tropics. Pamplemousses was probably the earliest of the 'botanical gardens' in the tropics; an 18th-century garden maintained as
775-411: The royal French East India Company . Subsequently, there were several other owners, and by 1805, the land had increased to about 49,000 ha (121,000 acres). By 1868, the gardens themselves occupied 19,248 ha (47,564 acres), with later additions to a total of 37,660 ha (93,060 acres). Only 25,110 ha (62,040 acres) of garden remain, the rest being an experimental station. The origin of
806-517: The sound the seeds make as they rattle inside the pods. Siris is also a common name of the genus Albizia . It is a tree growing to a height of 18–30 m (59–98 ft) tall with a trunk .5 to 1 m (1 ft 8 in to 3 ft 3 in) in diameter. The leaves are bipinnate, 7.5–15 cm (3–6 in) long, with one to four pairs of pinnae, each pinna with 6–18 leaflets. The flowers are white, with numerous 2.5–3.8 cm (1.0–1.5 in) long stamens, and very fragrant. The fruit
837-452: The sound the seeds make in the pod. Its uses include environmental management, forage , medicine and wood. It is cultivated as a shade tree in North and South America . In India and Pakistan, the tree is used to produce timber . Wood from Albizia lebbeck has a density of 0.55-0.66 g/cm or higher. Even where it is not native, some indigenous herbivores are liable to utilize lebbeck as
868-512: The village of Pamplemousses which lies about seven miles northeast of the capital, Port Louis. Pamplemousse or pamplemoucier is the grapefruit tree ( Citrus x paradisi ), which grows in the region, possibly introduced by the Dutch from Java . The gardens, which now cover an area of about 25,110 hectares (62,040 acres), were set aside on 8 June 1729 for colonist P. Barmont 'barmond', who sold it on 3 January 1735 to Claude N. de Maupin, an overseer in
899-543: Was obtained via ethnobotanical records , which are a reference to how a plant is used by indigenous peoples, not verifiable, scientific or medical evaluation of the effectiveness of these claims. Albizia lebbeck is also psychoactive . It is also very effective in migraine. All parts of the plant are useful, such as the leaves, root, and stem. The flowers of the plant are traditionally used in Chinese traditional medicine to treat insomnia . The taxonomic history of A. lebbeck
930-538: Was reported that the deer on exhibit were suffering from scabies. The Mauritius flying fox is the only mammal that is flying freely. It can be seen hanging on tree tops during day time. The birds that are commonly found here are the Mauritius grey white-eye , Rose-ringed parakeets , American Pekins , Muscovy ducks and the Common moorhen . Whithin the ponds, animals like Palea steindachneri , Carp , Koi , Guppies and
961-450: Was virtually abandoned. Later, Jean Baptiste Christophore Fusée Aublet , a horticulturist, was sent to establish a drug house and to create a botanical garden; he lived first at Mon Plaisir but was unhappy and transferred all his plant collections to Réduit. He was at loggerheads with 'M. Le Poivre p' ('Mister Pepper') — as he used to call Pierre Poivre — over the identification of nutmeg plants ( Myristica fragrans ). After two visits to