Editing Botanical garden (section)

===16th- and 17th-century European gardens===
{{Further|Herbal|Physic garden}}
[[File:Orto dei semplici PD 01.jpg|thumb|A 16th-century print of the [[Orto botanico di Padova|Botanical Garden of Padua]]—the oldest academic botanic garden still at its original location]]

In the 17th century, botanical gardens began their contribution to a deeper scientific curiosity about plants. If a botanical garden is defined by its scientific or academic connection, then the first true botanical gardens were established with the revival of learning that occurred in the European [[Renaissance]]. These were secular gardens attached to universities and medical schools, used as resources for teaching and research. The superintendents of these gardens were often professors of botany with international reputations, a factor that probably contributed to the creation of botany as an independent discipline rather than a descriptive adjunct to medicine.<ref>{{Harvnb|Williams|2011|p=148}}</ref>

==== Origins in the Italian Renaissance ====

The botanical gardens of [[Southern Europe]] were associated with university faculties of medicine and were founded in [[Italy]] at [[Orto botanico di Pisa]] (1544), [[Orto botanico di Padova]] (1545), [[Orto Botanico di Firenze]] (1545), [[Orto Botanico dell'Università di Pavia]] (1558) and [[Orto Botanico dell'Università di Bologna]] (1568).<ref group="nb">Precisely dating the foundation of botanical gardens is often difficult because government decrees may be issued some time before land is acquired and planting begins, or existing gardens may be relocated to new sites, or previously existing gardens may be taken over and converted.</ref> Here the physicians (known in English as [[Apothecary|apothecaries]]) delivered lectures on the Mediterranean "simples" or "[[officinal]]s" that were being cultivated in the grounds. Student education was no doubt stimulated by the relatively recent advent of printing and the publication of the first herbals.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hill|1915|pp=190–197}}</ref>

==== Northern Europe ====

The tradition of these Italian gardens spread across Europe, including among the earliest gardens 
[[Leipzig Botanical Garden]], Germany, 1543,<ref>{{cite web |title=Botanischer Garten der Universität Leipzig|url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/6653 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> the [[Botanical Garden of Valencia]], [[Habsburg Spain|Spain]], 1567;<ref>{{cite web |title=Jardí Botànic de la Universitat de València |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/6769 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> ''[[Hortus Botanicus Leiden]]'', Netherlands, 1590;<ref>{{cite web |title=Hortus Botanicus Leiden |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/5470 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> and ''[[Hortus Botanicus (Amsterdam)]]'', Netherlands, 1638),<ref>{{cite web |title=Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/4170 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> [[University of Oxford Botanic Garden]], England, 1621;<ref>{{cite web |title=Oxford Botanic Garden & Arboretum |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/4515 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> and [[Chelsea Physic Garden]], England, 1673;<ref>{{cite web |title=Chelsea Physic Garden |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/4559 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> [[Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh]], Scotland, 1670;<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/4566 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> ''[[Jardin des plantes de Montpellier]]'', France, 1593;<ref>{{cite web |title=Jardins des Plantes, Université Montpellier |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/3934 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> and ''[[Jardin des Plantes]]'', Paris, 1635;<ref>{{cite web |title=Jardins des Plantes, Paris (MNHN) |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/3936 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> [[University of Copenhagen Botanical Garden]], Denmark, 1600;<ref>{{cite web |title=Natural History Museum of Denmark Botanical Garden |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/5449 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref> and [[Uppsala University]], Sweden, 1655.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Linnaean Gardens of Uppsala |url=https://gardensearch.bgci.org/garden/4349 |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref>

==== Beginnings of botanical science ====

[[File:Chelsea physic garden.jpg|thumb|The [[Chelsea Physic Garden]] was established in 1673.]]

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the first plants were being imported to these major [[Western Europe]]an gardens from [[Eastern Europe]] and nearby [[Asia]] (which provided many [[bulb]]s), and these found a place in the new gardens, where they could be conveniently studied by the plant experts of the day. For example, Asian introductions were described by [[Carolus Clusius]] (1526–1609), who was director, in turn, of the [[Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna]] and [[Hortus Botanicus Leiden]]. Many plants were being collected from the [[Near East]], especially bulbous plants from [[Turkey]]. Clusius laid the foundations of [[Netherlands|Dutch]] tulip breeding and the bulb industry, and he helped create one of the earliest formal botanical gardens of Europe at [[Leyden]] where his detailed planting lists have made it possible to recreate this garden near its original site. The {{lang|la|hortus medicus}} of Leyden in 1601 was a perfect square divided into quarters for the four continents, but by 1720, though, it was a rambling system of beds, struggling to contain the novelties rushing in,<ref>{{Harvnb|Drayton|2000|p=24}}</ref> and it became better known as the {{lang|la|hortus academicus}}. His ''[[Exoticorum libri decem]]'' (1605) is an important survey of exotic plants and animals that is still consulted today.<ref>See {{Harvnb|Ogilvie|2006}}</ref> <!--The inclusion of new plant introductions in botanic gardens meant their scientific role was now widening, as botany gradually asserted its independence from medicine.-->

In the mid to late 17th century, the Paris [[Jardin des Plantes]] was a centre of interest with the greatest number of new introductions to attract the public. In [[England]], the [[Chelsea Physic Garden]] was founded in 1673 as the "Garden of the Society of Apothecaries". The Chelsea garden had heated [[greenhouse]]s, and in 1723 appointed [[Philip Miller]] (1691–1771) as [[head gardener]]. He had a wide influence on both botany and horticulture, as plants poured into it from around the world. The garden's golden age came in the 18th century, when it became the world's most richly stocked botanical garden. Its seed-exchange programme was established in 1682 and still continues today.<ref>See {{Harvnb|Minter|2000}}</ref>