Botanical gardens in Mexico, their history, actual situation and future roles

Abstract

This paper includes a general history of the botanical gardens in Mexico along with some prehispanic gardens (such as those of Iztapalapa, Oaxtepec and Tezcutzingo) and their characteristics. Also Vicente Cervantes created the Botanic Garden to aid the “Cátedra de Botánica”. During the Mexican independent era other gardens were developed including the Botanica Garden in Guadalajara which was designed to aclimatate rare and exotic plants used in urban reforestation. The Oaxaca Botanical Garden represented a new concept for the contemporary botanical garden in México. The actual situation of the botanical gardens in México is evaluated based upon the questionnaires administered by the federal Ecology Secretariat and the Mexican Asociation of Botanical Gardens. Today in Mexico, there are 11 established botanical gardens, 9 in consolidation, 14 in formation and 1 of them functions as reserve. The Mexican Association of Botanical Gardens promotes the contemporary and future roles of the botanic gardens in the conservation of endangered species along with such programs as the formation of national collections, satelites botanical gardens and twin gardens.