The name ‘Hortus Malabaricus’ means ‘Garden of Malabar.’ It also is the name of the first printed book on the plants of Kerala, published in Latin a couple of centuries ago by the then Dutch Governor of Cochin Hendrik Van Rheede. A garden version of the historic work is a major attraction of the Malabar Botanical Garden, which has been recently upgraded as Institute of Plant Sciences, at Pokkunnu near Olavanna here.
The garden features almost all the 700 plus plants documented in the 12-volume book published from Amsterdam between 1678 and 1693. For many, the book is only a name that appears in the history textbooks. But, at the Malabar Botanical Garden, the entire content of the book comes alive in front of the visitors in the form of living plants and trees. The garden dedicated to the legendary Ayurvedic physician Itty Achuthan, who helped Mr. Rheede with the local names and medicinal uses of the plants from his traditional knowledge, welcomes the visitors with a wall on which his image is etched along with a couple of his aides.
The garden begins with a coconut tree (Cocos Nucifera), characteristic of the State and unfolds before the visitors in different sections such as Algae, Bryophytes and Pteridophytes. The entire garden is a living textbook for students and researchers, says R. Prakashkumar, Director of the institute. The upgrading of the Botanical Garden into the Institute of Plant Sciences according to him is expected to bring more facilities to it.
The visitors can take a walking tour along the tiled pathway that meanders through the garden. Plants are set on both sides of the walkway accompanied by written descriptions on each plant on an erected clipboard adjacent to them.
While majority of the plants mentioned in the book are visible to the visitors, some are not seen as they are seasonal plants. They would, however, come into view during a different season, says B. Mufeed, a field guide at the garden. “Some rare varieties documented in the book have also gone extinct,” he says. Maintaining the garden is a tough prospect, says P.P. Ajesh, another field guide. Some plants needs special attention and care.“We have to give it to them without fail, because each plant is a precious page in this living book,” he says.
